Lawyer Of Accused New Hampshire Publisher Says There Was 'No Criminal intent'

The attorney for a New Hampshire publisher arrested last Thursday for allegedly running campaign ads without labeling them as such, says his client did not intent to violate the law. 

Debra A. Paul, publisher of the Londonderry Times, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with six misdemeanor counts related to the state’s Penalties For Political Advertising. She is to be arrainged on October 19.  

"The Londonderry Times is among the dwindling numbers of small newspapers in New Hampshire, as well as around the country," Paul’s lawyer Tony Naro said in a statement Friday, according to NHPR. "The Londonderry Times does their absolute best to put out a quality publication with limited staff and a limited budget. Ms. Paul acted with no criminal intent, denies the allegations, and is presumed innocent."

The office of state Attorney General Jim Formella said in a press release that Paul was investigated and warned against such actions on two occasions in 2019 and 2021. The publisher was given a ‘final warning’ letter last September, it adds. 

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New Hampshire’s RSA 664:16 requires that political ads be identified as such with appropriate language either at the beginning or end of the advertisement.

The news is unnerving given that the law criminalizes what would normally be deemed a civil matter. 

Two candidates told an investigator that they were unaware of the language requirement. 

Paul countered last week that Formella’s office has “more important matters to deal with than to send press releases out on misdemeanors such as this. With multiple unsolved homicides over the past year, this seems a bit absurd.”

The Londenderry Times is published by Nutfield Publishing, described on its website as a family owned business. 

 

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