CHARLESTON — Kyle Vass, a political operative associated with the American Civil Liberties Union, published a blog post this week attempting to discredit reporting by The Pittsburgh Observer, a subsidiary of Cowger Media, concerning allegations of an extramarital affair involving a gubernatorial candidate and a male staffer.
The Observer article reported the allegations without drawing conclusions. Vass’ post, however, used innuendo to suggest the reporting was part of a broader scheme tied to Cowger, the Upshur County Republican Party, and the Morrisey Campaign. He implied without evidence that Morrisey had raised money for the Upshur County Republican Executive Committee to pay for publication of coverage Vass viewed as unfavorable to one of Morrisey’s primary opponents.
“Be better,” Vass wrote on X to Morrisey.
Morrisey pushed back forcefully, accusing Vass of misrepresenting facts and falsely connecting his campaign to the story.
“You wrongly associated us with that and that was incorrect at every level. You should be ashamed for pushing this,” Morrisey said. “None of the monies raised ever paid for what you insinuated. Zero. Be better. If you want to be honorable, don’t insinuate and acquire facts.”
Vass also falsely labeled Caiden Cowger, owner of Cowger Media, as a “hired gun” for the Upshur County GOP committee. Cowger Media disputed that characterization, noting Cowger operates a creative agency that provides marketing services to a range of clients, both political and non-political.
Cowger Creative said the company produced a handful of simple videos for the Upshur County Republican Executive Committee in 2022 to support a local general-election candidate, but provided no services to the committee in 2024.
Cowger Media called Vass’ claims “blatantly false,” saying his attempts to link the company’s reporting to political activity were unfounded and aimed at undermining a factual news report, including claims that were first published by a group supporting Mac Warner for Governor.
