Republican U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais charged Thursday that his Democratic opponent in Tennessee’s 4th District race “has resorted to false, personal attacks” as the Jasper, Tenn., physician seeks to counter fallout from a leaked transcript that depicts him pressuring a woman with whom he had an affair to get an abortion.
In an email sent to supporters, DesJarlais says, “Eric Stewart knows that he cannot attack me on my independent, conservative and pro-life record in Congress, so he has resorted to false, personal attacks straight out of the Lincoln Davis playbook all in an attempt to steal this election away from the real issues: YOUR JOBS, YOUR HOMES and YOUR VALUES.”
DesJarlais said on Thursday in an interview with WTN-FM host Ralph Bristol that the woman did not turn out to be pregnant, The Associated Press reported.
On Wednesday, Stewart seized on a same-day Huffington Post account of the transcript and accused DesJarlais of “hypocrisy” and violating his marital vows and physician’s oath. The unnamed woman had been a patient of DesJarlais.
The congressman is not specifying what part of Stewart’s comments or the transcript, which is under seal in DeJarlais’ bitter divorce with his then-wife Susan, is false. The divorce was finalized in 2001.