Just a scant two weeks before the publication of Jessica Cutler’s “The Washingtonienne,” The Smoking Gun points us to the news that former Cutler paramour Robert Steinbuch (at left) is suing her for “invasion of privacy” and “severe emotional distress, humiliation, embarrassment, and anguish”. The Smoking Gun has image files of the 21-page document, which does not ask for a specific amount in monetary damages. The “news” has also hit Roll Call’s subscriber-only Heard on the Hill and Richard Leiby’s column in today’s Post, where Cutler is quoted as eloquently stating
Wow. It’s been, like, my personal policy not to confirm or deny any of the people in the blog, and I’m sticking to that.
Both Leiby and Roll Call note that Cutler’s novel is coming out June 1; Steibuch’s lawyer Jonathan Rosen seems to deny in Heard on the Hill that the suit has emerged with rather opportunistic timing:
“We’re not seeking any publicity in this case … The whole point is [Steinbuch] was harmed by publicity.”
We’ll be the first to call B.S. Unlike inside the beltway gossip outlets, The Smoking Gun attracts many thousands of readers from across the country who may not be familiar with the Washingtonienne scandal. A single day of front-page placement on TSG’s website is fantastic publicity for Cutler, Cutler’s publisher Hyperion, and Steinbuch’s case. It’s hard to believe that at the very least, some well-meaning, low-level publicist didn’t have the smarts to pass on information about the lawsuit to a popular website. In the advance publicity material for “The Washingtonienne,” DCist noted the emphasis on online publicity. We doubt this is coincidence.
Oh, and along with publicity material, we were lucky enough to get our grubby hands on an advance copy of the novel itself. Be on the lookout for a full DCist review in a couple weeks, closer to the book’s publication.
UPDATE: We’re told by a few commenters that Ms. Cutler’s debut novel is widely available in area bookstores now.
(Image of plaintiff Robert Steinbuch, whose current whereabouts are unknown)
