Republican Jack Ciattarelli got the go-ahead to slap a defamation suit against Democratic foe Mikie Sherrill over her stunning accusations that he killed tens of thousands of people while profiting off the opioid epidemic.
New Jersey Election Law Commission officials unanimously determined Monday that Ciattarelli can sue Sherrill (D-NJ) without flouting state campaign finance laws.
“Mr. Ciattarelli believes that he was defamed during the gubernatorial debate. He seeks to pursue that claim for defamation against Mikie Sherrill,” Ciattarelli’s campaign attorney, Mark Sheridan said during a Monday hearing, Gothamist reported.
“He does not intend to use any campaign funds or any matching funds. It’s solely his own funds.”
During Ciattarelli’s debate against Sherrill on Oct. 8, the congresswoman lobbed a seemingly practiced attack against his business endeavors.
“He made his millions by working with some of the worst offenders and saying that opioids were safe, putting out propaganda, publishing their propaganda,” she jabbed.
“Tens of thousands of New Jerseyans died. And as if that wasn’t enough, then he was paid to develop an app so that people who were addicted could more easily get access to opioids,” she said.
Sherrill has repeatedly doubled down on those stunning attacks. Recently, she bashed him as “a total baby” for his threats to sue her.
Her campaign shrugged off the New Jersey Election Law Commission vote, allowing Ciattarelli’s defamation suit to move forward.
“The moment Mikie Sherrill pressed him on the truth about his business, which peddled deadly misinformation about opioids,” Sherrill campaign communications director Sean Higgins hit back. “He threatened to file a lawsuit to shut the conversation down.
“Jack has yet to deny his role in fueling the opioid epidemic, and if he actually follows through on his desperate and frivolous lawsuit, we look forward to obtaining legal discovery into Jack putting millions in profits over those dying in the opioid crisis.”
The issue emerged during the 2021 gubernatorial cycle and revolved around Ciattarelli’s since-defunct Somerville-based Galen Publishing, which made $12.2 million between 2007 and 2016 on a contract for continuing education materials with the University of Tennessee’s pharmacy school.
Galen Publishing was one of two medical publishing companies that Ciattarelli co-founded alongside American Medical Publishing.
The firm produced material on pain management that critics say minimized the potential dangers of opioid use.
“Misuse or diversion of pain relievers is a significant problem, especially among adolescents and young adults. Concerns about opioid dependence, addiction, or non-medical use often create barriers to effective pain management,” one of the papers said, NJ.com reported in 2021.
“The risk of opioid misuse is low among patients with chronic pain who do not have preexisting substance use disorders.”
That material was published as part of a deal with the University of Tennessee was underwritten in part by key players in the pharmaceutical industry.
Ciattarelli later sold Galen Publishing for over $12 million in 2017.
The Post reached out to the Ciattarelli campaign for comment.
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