October 7, 2020

VIA US MAIL & EMAIL – info@tomreedforcongress.com

Tom Reed for Congress

PO Box 94
Corning, New York 14830

RE: Cease and Desist

To Whom It May Concern:

Please be advised that we represent the campaign of candidate Tracy Mitrano. If you are
represented by counsel, please promptly forward this letter to said counsel.

On behalf of the campaign of Tracy Mitrano, candidate for Congress, please be advised
that this letter constitutes our formal request that you immediately cease and desist airing and
publishing a defamatory, deceptive, misleading, and patently false advertisements seemingly entitled
“Can’t Trust Tracy – Defund Our Police,” both the 15 second and 30 second versions. We demand
that you immediately cease publishing these advertisements in television broadcast on local
television stations, where you have aired it or caused it to be aired, but likewise, this demand extends
to publication of the same on social media and all internet platforms and websites.

As a point of note, these political advertisements purport to have been paid for by Tom
Reed for Congress, and additionally approved by Tom Reed. The political advertisements falsely
state that Candidate Tracy Mitrano is in favor of defunding police. Specifically, the video
advertisements includes the statement, in all-caps text “TRACY MITRANO WANTS TO
DEFUND OUR POLICE,” and “TRACY MITRANO SUPPORTS DEFUNDING POLICE”
super-imposing images of Candidate Mitrano against these text backdrop, as well as images of
violence, and all casting Candidate Mitrano in a decidedly false light. See
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ews0DQsrUJw&feature=emb_title and
https://mycmag.kantarmediana.com/KMIcmagvidbin2/HOUSE_NY23_REED_SO_EXTRE
ME.html

As a critical matter of fact, Tracy Mitrano has never expressed any wish or design
to defund police. This shorter advertisement (unsurprisingly) fails to address where or when
Candidate Mitrano ever expressed such a desire to defund police, or from where this alleged
statement or policy of Candidate Mitrano was derived. In contrast, but still blatantly false, the
second longer advertisement listed above incorrectly suggests a position never once proposed by
Candidate Mitrano on her Facebook page. The advertisements’ central point is deliberately false

Y o u r A n s w e r.

A 227 Niagara Street ∙ Buffalo ∙ NY ∙ 14201

P 716.803.8400 F 716.408.0308 W vandettepenberthy.com

James M. VanDette E jvandette@vanpenlaw.com

Brittany Lee Penberthy E bpenberthy@vanpenlaw.com ALSO ADMITTED IN CONNECTICUT
Patrick Makin E pmakin@vanpenlaw.com ∙ Vincent Parlato E vparlato@vanpenlaw.com
and misleading, and Tom Reed’s campaign has an obligation to cease and desist airing them
immediately to comply with FEC, State Law, FCC and other rules and regulations, to serve the
public interest, and to avoid costly and time-consuming litigation.

Given the foregoing, should you fail to immediately cease broadcasting, publishing, and/or
promoting the subject advertisements, all legal remedies available in law and in equity will be pursued
for your failure to address and remedy the same.

Please confirm your compliance with this demand to me no later than October 12, 2020.

Sincerely,

VANDETTE PENBERTHY LLP

By: Brittanylee Penberthy

BrittanyLee Penberthy, Esq.