The campaign of Senator John Kerry, stepping up a counteroffensive against a veterans group that is attacking his military record, said Friday that it was filing a complaint with the US Federal Election Commission (FEC) accusing the organization of violating campaign laws by coordinating its activities with the Bush campaign.
Bush's campaign has firmly denied any connection to the group, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, and White House spokesman Scott McClellan accused Kerry of "losing his cool" over the group's accusation that he lied about the circumstances behind his military decorations in Vietnam.
McClellan's comment prompted a sharp response from the Kerry campaign.
"Mr. McClellan needs to understand that John Kerry is not the type of leader who will sit and read `My Pet Goat' to a group of second graders while America is under attack," said Stephanie Cutter in a reference to President George W. Bush's activity during the first minutes of the Sept. 11 attacks.
The exchange came on day when the veterans group unveiled its second anti-Kerry ad, and demonstrated how the issue is monopolizing the presidential race.
The group, which received some of its initial funding from Republicans with ties to Bush and his family, is made up of veterans who served with Kerry in Vietnam, but only one was on the river patrol boat that he commanded. Many of their claims have been called into question.
Kerry's campaign says the group is tied to the Bush campaign.
"We hope the FEC will shut down these ads that are run on behalf of the Bush campaign," said Michael Meehan, a spokesman for Kerry's campaign. He said the campaign plans to file its complaint on Monday.
Steve Schmidt, a spokesman for Bush, called the action frivolous and accused Kerry of his own violations involving Democratic-leaning groups like the Media Fund and America Coming Together, which have spent tens of millions to support Kerry and whose leaders have close ties with his campaign.
John O'Neill, a leader of the Swift boat group, said the planned complaint was an assault on the free-speech rights of veterans and former prisoners of war.
Though campaign finance laws allow advocacy groups to collect large contributions and run advertisements independently, they are not allowed to coordinate activities or fund raising with the campaigns or parties.
The Kerry complaint will be the second against the Swift boat group. A group of organizations that works to limit money in politics filed one earlier this month. But the FEC often takes months to resolve enforcement actions.
The Democratic National Committee, meanwhile, is airing a spot that features General Merrill McPeak, who was the Air Force chief of staff during the 1991 Persian Gulf war and who had previously been supportive of Bush.
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