Schmidt ordered to remove TV ad against Kieckhefer

A judge on Friday ordered State Senate candidate Gary Schmidt to pull a TV ad.

The political ad charges his opponent state Sen. Ben Kieckhefer endorsed U.S. Sen. Harry Reid’s campaign against Sharron Angle in 2010.

District Judge Pat Flanagan agreed with Kieckhefer’s lawyers the ad could seriously damage Kieckhefer’s reputation in the Republican primary where the two are competing. Flanagan issued a preliminary injunction blocking the further broadcast of that advertisement until further hearings into the issue can be held.

The action came in a hastily called hearing on Kieckhefer’s defamation lawsuit against Schmidt that charges him with willful disregard for the truth.

“Schmidt has been falsely claiming Kieckhefer supported and endorsed Harry Reid in 2010 despite knowing this was a lie and having no evidence to support the claim,” Kieckhefer’s campaign said in a statement following the hearing.

Kieckhefer sought quick action on the ad since the primary election is Tuesday.

Schmidt reportedly complied by having all three Reno network stations where the advertisement was running remove it from the schedule.

The judge’s ruling was just a preliminary injunction, Schmidt stressed and said, “I believe that I would prevail on a permanent thing,” referring to a final legal decision.

In addition, Schmidt said he is “in the process of preparing a cross-complaint” against Kieckhefer, also claiming “misrepresentation” when it came to charges made about him concerning his status as a Republican and his residence in Kieckhefer’s campaign advertising. Schmidt said he was undecided if he would take the legal action, saying any future legal proceedings could be made “moot” because the election is on Tuesday.