Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) has threatened to sue a publication after it revealed details of his tax returns, which he had sent to them by mistake.
According to Lagniappe Daily, which broke the original story, "In a cease-and-desist letter emailed Saturday afternoon, the former Auburn coach’s attorneys demanded the article be removed, accused Lagniappe of 'unlawfully accessing' the information." The letter further "claimed it was illegally published without Tuberville’s consent, and ... it was not protected speech under the First Amendment."
“Your conduct and that of the organization is not protected by the First Amendment when it involves unlawful acquisition and publication of statutorily protected tax and income data for a person, especially when that person is an official of the United States,” stated Albert L. Jordan, an attorney for Tuberville, in an email to Lagniappe.
Tuberville, who is currently running for governor rather than seeking another term in the Senate, released the tax information as part of an effort to prove he was a legitimate resident of Alabama, following months of allegations from both Democrats and his own Republican political rivals that he in fact lives in Florida and may have even voted illegally.
However, the Tuberville campaign mistakenly failed to redact key portions of the documents they handed over, accidentally revealing a wealth of information about how the senator makes his money and what he pays in taxes.
Lagniappe emphasized that they did not release details that would violate Tuberville's individual privacy, like his driver's license or Social Security number, despite those also having been leaked.