A senior lawyer working for President George W. Bush's re-election campaign has resigned.
Attorney Benjamin Ginsberg
Mr Benjamin Ginsberg's resignation came after he disclosed he has provided legal advice to a group that has accused Democratic candidate John Kerry of lying about his Vietnam war record.
Mr Ginsberg was the second person to quit the Bush campaign over ties to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth group, which has been attacking Mr Kerry's record through television commercials and a book.
Bush campaign chairman Mr Marc Racicot had insisted just last week that "there is no connection of any kind whatsoever" between the campaign and the Swift Boat group, and White House spokesman Scott McClellan stood by that assessment despite the Ginsberg revelations.
The Bush campaign has denied Kerry's charge the president's re-election team is using such "front groups". Mr Bush on Monday called for a halt to the ads, along with others run by independent groups, but he did not condemn the group or its allegations.
In his letter of resignation to Bush, Mr Ginsberg defended his actions as legal and said he was proud to have advised the veterans.
Mr Ginsberg later told CNN: "Nobody at the Bush campaign or the White House knew of my dual representation," but he said he "assumed" the Swift Boat group knew he was working for Mr Bush.
Senator Max Cleland of Georgia and other Vietnam veterans were turned away from Mr Bush's Crawford, Texas, ranch on Wednesday when they tried to deliver a letter asking the president to condemn the Swift Boat ads.