New Jersey GOP gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli’s campaign announced on Thursday that he would be filing a lawsuit against Democratic opponent Rep. Mikie Sherrill (N.J.) for defamation following comments she made during a debate on Wednesday about him, his business and the opioid crisis.

"Last night, faced with continued questions about her refusal to release disciplinary records that would reveal her true role in the Naval Academy cheating scandal, and pressed about her unusually abbreviated tenure as a federal prosecutor, Mikie Sherrill cracked,” Ciattarelli campaign strategist Chris Russell said in a statement.

“In doing so, she claimed - twice - that Jack Ciattarelli ‘killed tens of thousands of people, including children’, a clearly defamatory attack that shocked the moderators, press, and public alike,” he continued.

"In a time where political violence and violent rhetoric are becoming all too prevalent, Mikie Sherrill baselessly and recklessly accusing a political opponent of mass murder in a televised debate crosses the line,” he added.

The lawsuit is expected to be filed early next week.

Sherrill and Ciattarelli met on Wednesday night for their second and last debate in New Brunswick, N.J., which was often testy and........

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