Katherine Gregg
Journal State House Bureau
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- In a strongly worded TV attack ad set to air this weekend, Republican congressional candidate Brendan Doherty says his opponent, U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, was a "dishonest mayor'' who in his previous career as a criminal defense lawyer "made big money working for some of Rhode Island's most brutal rapists, pedophiles and murderers.''
The ad also says that "Politician Cicilline'' voted as the state legislator against "mandatory sentences for domestic violence offenders and child abusers,'' while Doherty, the retired head of the state police, "earned our trust.''
"It's not about Democrat or Republican, it's about integrity,'' the ad says.
The underlying message: while Doherty was working to put violent criminals behind bars, incumbent Cicilline was defending them.
Cicilline has argued that the right to an attorney is key to the American system of justice.
PolitiFact Rhode Island recently investigated Doherty's earlier claim that Cicilline voted against a 1995 bill that imposed harsher sentences on those convicted a second time of domestic violence and a 1996 bill that did the same for convicted child abusers. The finding: Cicilline did vote against both bills.