A failed Republican Congressional candidate is seeking $120 million in damages for alleged severe emotional and mental distress caused by critical and unflattering comments by popular Phoenix-based conservative and iHeartRadio radio personality James T. Harris.
As reported Wednesday in the Yellow Sheet Report, Daniel McCarthy filed the lawsuit Feb. 2 claiming Harris damaged the wannabe politician’s “integrity, virtue, and reputation” through ridicule and by characterizing the former candidate as someone who is “unhinged,” “crazy,” and who associates with “thugs” and “shady” people.
Since January 2018, Harris and his Conservative Circus has aired weekdays on iHeartRadio’s News Talk 550 KFYI in the highly coveted 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. slot. Neither Harris nor iHeartRadio have commented on the lawsuit, which has been assigned to Judge Randall Warner of the Maricopa County Superior Court.
The Yellow Sheet Report article was, itself, quite dismissive of both McCarthy’s lawsuit and his candidacy against then-Senator Martha McSally in the 2020 primary election. It describes McCarthy as the “constant butt of jokes” whose “own bizarre actions on the campaign trail” harmed his political standing.
As to the lawsuit’s claim that Harris’s public comments caused any damage to McCarthy’s political career, the article noted “it’s not really a career if you’re not elected.” The $120 million demand is more than the base salary of the entire 2020 Arizona Cardinals roster.
McCarthy, age 35, also contends he is constantly concerned for his safety due to comments aired by the outspoken Harris. His attitude, however, was more positive last July when McCarthy shared a weblink of his appearance on Harris’s show leading up to the August primary election.
McSally, who refused to debate her opponent, won with more than 75 percent of the vote, and ever since McCarthy has decried the Republican “establishment.” He has also spoke favorably in recent weeks about the formation of a Patriot Party in Arizona.
On Nov. 7, Harris and McCarthy both appeared at a Stop the Steal event at the Arizona Capitol. Afterward, Harris opined about McCarthy and the effect he was having on the Republican Party, even calling the one-time candidate an “a**hat” one on occasion and “a sad example of a conservative.”
“The foregoing statements by iHeartRadio and Harris are false,” McCarthy’s lawsuit alleges. As The Yellow Sheet Report pointed out, McCarthy provides no evidence in support of his claims.
Other conservatives have also had glib reactions to McCarthy’s lawsuit and demand for $120 million. Political consultant Constantin Querard pointed out McCarthy recently got on stage at a major AZGOP event and criticized most of the attendees, effectively damaging his own reputation within the party.
More confusion from McCarthy's lawsuit claiming he's somehow afraid for his safety. He showed up at AZGOP meeting w/o security, took the stage, and baited a crowd of 100's telling them how much their party belonged in the trash. He wasn't afraid at all. Not even a little bit.
— Constantin Querard (@CQuerard) February 4, 2021
Harris will have 20 days to answer the complaint once served with a summons, while iHeartRadio, which is owned by Texas-based iHeartMedia, will have 30 days to answer once served. iHeartMedia controls nearly 850 live broadcast stations, offers digital service across more than 250 platforms, and is the #1 publisher of commercial podcasts.
This isn’t the first time McCarthy has struck out against the media, as shown by his December 2019 comments when his cosmetic company’s China operations were questioned by a 12News reporter. After the interview -but before it aired- McCarthy called the alleged the show “a failing news program” that was attempting to “sink my candidacy.”
