Dem Consultants: Huffington Stole Our Idea

The Huffington Post has turned into perhaps the most important liberal news web site. But two Democratic consultants say the site’s founder, left-wing doyenne Arianna Huffington, and her business partner stole the idea from them, Politico reports. And they’re doing more than talking about it: they’re suing.

Peter Daou and James Boyce charge that Huffington and partner Ken Lerer created the site from a plan the consultants shared with them, and in doing so violated a handshake agreement to work together, according to a lawsuit to be filed in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan.

“Huffington has styled herself as a ‘new media’ maven and an expert on the effective deployment of news and celebrity on the Internet in the service of political ends,” says the complaint. “As will be shown at trial, Huffington’s and Lerer’s image with respect to the Huffington Post is founded on false impressions and inaccuracies.”