While the charge of being a Washington insider appears to be spot on – Malinowski worked for HRW for more than a decade, served on the National Security Council and was an Assistant Secretary of State under President Barack Obama – some of the other charges are less clear cut.

Malinowski and HRW lobbied for access to courts and Habeus Corpus rights for detainees in Guantanamo Bay between 2006 and 2008, and while the Malinowski campaign pointed to his backing the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, a bill outlawing the use of torture that was authored by U.S. Sen. John McCain, the ad does not directly refer to the bill, and it cites lobbying disclosures dated to 2007, after the bill had already passed.

Still, that didn’t stop some Republicans from siding with Malinowski after the ad’s attack.

“Tom worked with Republicans and Democrats who believed American ideals are worth protecting in war and peace,” McCain chief of staff Mark Salter said on Twitter. “That’s a reason to vote for him not against him.”

The bill passed was backed by President George W. Bush’s administration and won landslide votes from both chambers of Congress.