Betsy Rothstein
Betsy Rothstein Credit: Photo by Darrow Montgomery

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The defamation suit against FishbowlDC is already shaping up to be a real-life Seinfeld finale, only instead of the Soup Nazi, the trial’s witness list includes a number of local minor media personalities.

Lawyers for local publicist Wendy Gordon filed the suit back in January, alleging that FishbowlDC editor Betsy Rothstein and blogger Peter Ogburn “falsely depicted Ms. Gordon as a self-promoting, attention-seeking, loose party girl/cougar, constantly on the prowl for considerably younger men for casual, sexual relations.” In addition to Rothstein and Ogburn, Gordon’s suit also names parent website Mediabistro and parent company WebMediaBrands Inc.

Attorneys for the respective sides of the $2 million suit recently filed their witness lists and—-at least for the segment of the D.C. media that covers D.C. media—-they do not disappoint.

Here are some of the witnesses the involved parties could potentially call to the stand as they scramble to find people in #ThisTown to attest to their superior characters.

On the defense side, lawyers for Mediabistro Inc. list potential 12 witnesses, including Daily Caller founder Tucker Carlson, former Washington Times editor Sam Dealey, former Washington Examiner reporter and Sirius radio host Julie Mason, and Washingtonian editor-at-large Carol Joynt.

The plaintiffs are calling 31 witnesses, including the Washington Times‘ Emily Miller, FRESH 94.7’s Tommy McFly, the Washington Examiner‘s Joana Suleiman, and the Washington Post‘s Paul Schwartzman.

This should be fun.

Defendants’ witness list:

  • Betsy Rothstein
  • Peter Ogburn
  • Mitchell Eisenberg
  • Eddie Scarry
  • Matt Dornic
  • Julie Mason
  • Tucker Carlson
  • Janet Donovan
  • Charlie Hurt
  • Sam Dealy
  • Carol Joynt
  • Peter Savodnik

Plaintiff’s Witness List

  • Wendy Gordon
  • Betsy Rothstein
  • Peter Ogburn
  • Chris Ariens
  • Matt Dornic
  • Jackie Kucinich
  • Eddie Scarry
  • Justin McLachlan
  • Tommy McFly
  • Paul Schwartzman
  • Zena Polin
  • Kimberly Robinson
  • Brendan Kownacki
  • Judy Plavnick
  • Jill Collins
  • Karen Nudelman
  • Christophe Poteaux
  • Michelle Poteaux
  • Joana Suleiman
  • Aba Kwawu
  • Erwin Yaw
  • Barbara Martin
  • Christine deLargy
  • Christina Taylor
  • Jen McNulty
  • Katy Adams
  • Ellen Gray
  • Chris Brown
  • Mel Davis
  • Mike LaRosa

Photo by Darrow Montgomery