TOPEKA — Kansas Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning has filed a defamation lawsuit against The Kansas City Star and one of its columnists.
The lawsuit filed Monday in Johnson County District Court alleges that Steve Rose’s column Saturday subjected Denning to public ridicule by falsely attributing multiple statements to him.
The column criticized Denning’s opposition an expansion of the state’s Medicaid health coverage. The lawsuit said Rose and Denning haven’t spoken since August 2016.
Denning is seeking more than $75,000 in damages.
Rose said in an email to The Associated Press: “I have been writing columns for almost 50 years, and I don’t make things up.”
Later Monday, KCUR public radio reported that Rose had resigned from the Star on Saturday.
Star editors did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
