Las Vegas Publisher Stands By Claim That Reid Threatened Employee

FOXNews.com
Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Las Vegas Review-Journal publisher Sherman Frederick first accused Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of "bullying" in a column Sunday, claiming Reid told an employee he wants the paper shut down.

The publisher of the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Tuesday stood by his claim that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid threatened one of the newspaper's employees, after Reid's office claimed the alleged threat was meant as a joke.

Publisher Sherman Frederick first accused Reid of "bullying" in a column Sunday. He said Reid told his paper's ad director, "I hope you go out of business," at a local Chamber of Commerce luncheon a few days earlier.

After the column generated a lot of controversy and attention, Reid spokesman Jon Summers claimed the newspaper misinterpreted the remark.

"Clearly he wasn't serious," he said. "Once again, the editors at the Review-Journal got it wrong."

But Frederick told FOX News that Reid's trademark dry wit was not at play here.

"We were there. We heard it. He was mad," he said. "No matter what angle we look at it, it's pretty darn ugly."

An article in the Review-Journal Tuesday said the original column generated thousands of reader comments and dozens of letters. Frederick told FOX News, though, that his complaint about Reid was in no way a publicity stunt.

"We're not making this up. We're worried. I mean, Senator Reid is not just any U.S. senator," he said. "The only way I know to deal with a bully is to not necessarily beat him up but just to simply stand up to him and shine the light of day on him. And it's my only defense."

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