Liberal internet publisher Arianna Huffington is being sued by two Democrat consultants for allegedly stealing their website idea.
Politico reported Monday evening the suit filed in New York State Supreme Court claims James Boyce and Peter Daou originally presented the idea for the Huffington Post to Huffington and her partner Ken Lerer, and the four made a handshake agreement to develop the website together (h/t NBer acaiguana):
The complaint is a direct challenge to the left’s most important media property from two stalwarts of the progressive movement. And it challenges Huffington’s own oft-told story of coming up with the idea in conversation with Lerer and other friends.
“Huffington has styled herself as a ‘new media’ maven and an expert on the effective deployment of news and celebrity on the Internet in the service of political ends,” says the complaint. “As will be shown at trial, Huffington’s and Lerer’s image with respect to the Huffington Post is founded on false impressions and inaccuracies: They presented the ‘new media’ ideas and plans of Peter Daou and James Boyce as their own in order to raise money for the website and enhance their image, and breached their promises to work with Peter and James to develop the site together.”
Maybe more importantly, the complaint brings to light the liberal advocacy and overtly political goals of the Huffington Post:
Democrats need “to develop a dominant position within the Internet,” Daou said during an early meeting about the site, according to the complaint. “It is a system [for] pushing the message, not just for fundraising,” he allegedly said.
For those unfamiliar with the duo, Boyce is a far-left new media enterpreneur that advised the John Kerry presidential campaign in 2004; Daou was also a Kerry campaign adviser as well as an adviser to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in 2008.
For their part, Huffington and Lerer reject Boyce and Daou's complaint as "Bizzaro World" claiming the pair "had absolutely nothing to do with creating, running, financing, or building the Huffington Post."
Should be interesting to see where this goes.
Stay tuned.
