Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa) will sue liberal activist Ed Fallon over his recent bribery accusation, the lawmaker’s aide confirmed today.

Earlier this week on his website, Fallon accused Boswell of “sending an aide to bribe me with the offer of an $80,000 a-year job to not run against him.”

Boswell spokesman Kevin McTigue confirmed to Roll Call in an email that the lawsuit was “being filed today” in response.

The timing is less than convenient for Boswell, who faces Rep. Tom Latham (R) in a highly competitive race for the 3rd district. Roll Call rates this race as a Tossup.

In 2008, Fallon, a former state lawmaker, challenged Boswell in the primary. Boswell walloped him, 61 percent to 39 percent.

Fallon declined to name the aide in question in an interview with the Des Moines Register.

In his post, Fallon also called for a write-in campaign for Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie.