Leslie Merrill McCombs Fuming Over Scandal Allegations
Say what you will about the legality of her lobbying techniques, but Leslie Merrill McCombs is coming out swinging when it comes to allegations that she and Gov. Ed Rendell have an “inappropriate” relationship. She made a statement yesterday calling out state Sen. Jeff Piccola for hiring a P.I. to probe into her bidness, and she’s clearly pissed about his sly accusation of an affair:
“Clearly, it is being suggested that I have an inappropriate relationship with the governor. That suggestion is disgusting and insulting, and I am appalled that an elected public official can get away with such slanderous behavior. It is deeply hurtful to me and my family.”
Though Piccola is the one who started the whole mess, it was definitely given a gust of wind by the Daily News’s John Baer, whose Wednesday column, “Guv, the blonde and lobbying law,” certainly played up the notion that Rendell and McCombs were possibly boinking. One of the two photos that appeared with the column — a grainy shot of the two sitting together at a Pittsburgh Pirates game last July — also suggested scandal. The Guv shot that down, telling MSNBC: “That baseball game that was in the newspaper. I was there with her and five other people, and her son was there.”
Fair enough. McCombs seems spooked by all the attention, as does The Talent Guide, a Pittsburgh-based online portal for regional voiceover actors that featured her bio and some of her work samples. The site’s photo of her was used by many local and national stories (including ours) to talk about the controversy. But now it’s mysteriously vanished.
Leslie Merrill McCombs “Appalled” By Talk Over Lobbying [MSNBC]
Hot Blondes Make Even the Lamest Political Scandals More Compelling [Daily Examiner]
PHOTO: Daily News
