Jack Ciattarelli to sue Mikie Sherrill over NJ governor's debate comment

NJ Governor's race debate recap: Transit, Trump, and more

FOX 5 NY's Linda Schmidt has the latest on what the candidates had to say.

Jack Ciattarelli, the Republican candidate in the race for New Jersey's governor, is suing Democratic opponent Mikie Sherrill over accusations made during this week's gubernatorial debate.

‘You killed tens of thousands’

What we know:

In one of the most heated moments of Wednesday's debate, Sherrill accused Ciattarelli of profiting from the opioid crisis, resulting in deaths.

The accusation stemmed from NJ.com's reporting that Ciattarelli’s former medical publishing company received over $12 million mostly from pharmaceutical companies to promote opioids as low-risk treatments for chronic pain before he sold the firm in 2017.

"You’re trying to divert from the fact you killed tens of thousands of people by printing your misinformation, your propaganda," the four-term congresswoman said during the debate.

Ciattarelli, running for governor for the third time, forcefully denied the charge, labeling it a desperate lie.

"Shame on you," he said.

Ciattarelli says he's suing

What they're saying:

In a statement released Thursday, the Ciattarelli campaign said they intend to sue Sherrill over her "inflammatory and irresponsible allegation."

"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. 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," Ciattarelli strategist Chris Russell said in a statement.

Russell was referencing questions about Sherrill's military record after it was revealed that the congresswoman did not participate in her 1994 graduation from the Naval Academy amid fallout that year from a well-documented cheating scandal. Sherrill claims she was barred from walking because she did not turn her back on friends and has blasted the Trump administration over the release of the files.

The campaign said they expect the lawsuit to be formally filed early next week in court.