By Lisa Rein and Spencer S. Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, June 4, 2004; Page B01
A longtime adviser to Rep. James P. Moran Jr. has lodged about the most damaging allegation that could be made about the congressman from Northern Virginia at this point in his reelection campaign: that he heard him make an anti-Semitic remark.
Last night, the seven-term congressman said he is "stupefied" at the allegation by his former campaign strategist and pollster, Alan M. Secrest, and called it a "flat-out lie."
The dispute marks another unpredictable turn in the career of the Washington region's most talked-about congressman. In Tuesday's 8th District Democratic primary, Moran, 59, faces a challenge from Andrew M. Rosenberg, an Alexandria lawyer who has made an issue of the incumbent's personal conduct and ethics, in particular a remark he made last year that angered American Jewish leaders and Democratic leaders.
Secrest, a prominent Alexandria-based pollster who has run 300 successful campaigns for Democratic members of Congress, said Moran made an anti-Semitic reference to the staff of a national Democratic campaign committee during a private meeting with advisers several weeks ago.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14002-2004Jun3.html