Lewis will sue ‘Tanny’ over alleged defamatory statements on radio

Radio personality James “Tanny” Rose has not acknowledged receipt of a lawyer’s letter demanding a public apology to Senate minority leader and author Richard Lewis, who is accusing him of defamation of character.
Nor has Rose done what was asked, so Lewis, through his attorney Charlesworth Tabor, will be suing Rose for comments made last months on ZDK Liberty Radio.
Tabor confirmed that Rose has ignored Lewis’s demand for an apology for the allegations and suggestions of corruption and other unlawful practices in relation to Lewis’s contract with the Board of Education.
Rose’s comments were made on ZDK’s Breakfast Show on February 12 and, in a hand-delivered letter dated February 15, he was given 14 days to respond and warned that he would be sued, should he not comply.
Meanwhile, the management of ZDK has apologised to Lewis who accepted and will therefore not pursue any further legal action against the media company.
His lawyer confirmed the latter, while Lewis also spoke about it on social media.
He wrote on his Facebook page, “Mr. Sean Bird has acknowledged that ZDK was wrong in facilitating James “Tanny” Rose in the publication of false, damaging and defamatory allegations about me, stemming from the E-Book saga. I commend Mr. Bird for this responsible action…”
Lewis added, “Some people want to wish the E-Book scandal away but I continue to insist on a full investigation into the matter. The public demands accountability for our tax dollars. Call the investigation now!”
The e-book saga relates to how much the government has to pay an India supplier for user fees, who negotiated the deal, and whether they had the requisite authority to do so.
The prime minister has said it is a settled matter, the fee was renegotiated downwards, and while the group that negotiated the payments did not have the authority to do so, he as head of government and finance minister is satisfied that there was no fraud or under-handedness involved.
Critics like Richard Lewis insist that the Prime Minister’s mere word on the matter is simply not enough and cannot be accepted as closure for what they have consistently termed a scandal.