Chuck FleischmannSix months after Chuck Fleischmann beat Robin Smith in the 3rd District GOP primary and was elected to Congress, the fight has moved to a Nashville courtroom.
A former aide to Smith is accusing Fleischmann's chief of staff of defamation, slander and invasion of privacy in a lawsuit that also accuses Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Chris Devaney of failing to honor a confidential employment agreement.
In a lawsuit filed in Davidson County Circuit Court, Republican activist Mark Winslow is suing Chip Saltsman for $750,000 in compensatory and punitive damages.
Saltsman declined to comment Wednesday.
Winslow was the state GOP's chief of staff for nearly two years and was Smith's media director last year in the District 3 race. Winslow claims Saltsman, who ran Fleischmann's campaign and now heads his Washington, D.C., staff, lied about a severance payment made to Winslow by the Tennessee Republican Party in 2009.
The Fleischmann campaign claimed that Smith, when she was state party chairwoman, paid a "bonus" to Winslow even though the state party was in debt.
DOCUMENTSPDF: Copy of the lawsuit
Winslow's lawsuit says that such claims were an improper and erroneous reading of confidential contracts.
"Mr. Saltsman ... knew that his statements were false and his defamatory statements directly damaged Mr. Winslow," Nashville attorney W. Gary Blackburn said in a 15-page complaint.
Winslow said Smith in 2009 offered party staffers employment contracts through the end of the year to help ensure continuity in staff and operations. When Smith stepped down to run for Congress, new chairman Chris Devaney offered to keep Winslow on as a consultant at half the pay.
The consulting arrangement required the GOP and Winslow to "agree to maintain absolute confidentiality and secrecy" about its terms.
The following year, the contract and other personnel items about Winslow were distributed to the media. Saltsman claimed in a radio interview that Winslow's actions were "at worst illegal, and at best, just plain wrong."
Winslow said Saltsman's comments and actions have prevented him from finding employment with other Republican campaigns or candidates.
In a statement released Wednesday, Devaney said he rejects the allegations against him and the Tennessee Republican Party.
"In order to protect the integrity of our party, all legal options are being considered," he said.
Smith said she is confident the truth will come out in any legal proceedings.
"I will be prepared to cooperate and give testimony if I am asked to, and I do think that the facts will come out in this situation," she said.