McCain, in a press conference called to address a story published in The New York Times about his relationship to the female lobbyist, said that he had never done anything to violate the public trust.

The story, based mostly on the accounts of anonymous sources, reported that the senator’s staffers asked the female lobbyist to stay away from McCain during his 2000 presidential campaign to dispel any notion of impropriety. In addition, the article said the Arizona senator acted on behalf of her clients by writing letters to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

“I’m very disappointed in The New York Times piece,” McCain said. “It’s not true.”

The senator described the lobbyist as a friend but stressed that he was not closer to her than others.

McCain surrogates who rushed to address the issue were more outspoken in their criticism of the story.

Attorney Robert Bennett called the piece “a hatchet job” and campaign adviser Charles Black was even more vocal.

“Unfortunately, The New York Times, the largest liberal newspaper in America, is running a false smear campaign against the integrity of the new conservative Republican nominee for president, John McCain, printing false rumors and gossip with no sources,” Black said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “This doesn’t meet the journalistic standards of a third-rate tabloid and it’s a shame that they have stooped to that.”

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R), who is still in the running for the GOP nomination, said he would not react to the story beyond saying that he believes McCain is an honorable man.

Lanny Davis, who served as special counsel to President Clinton and is an ardent backer of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) for president, is defending McCain. Davis, a contributor to The Hill’s Pundits Blog, wrote that The New York Times failed to mention that the FCC investigated the matter referenced in its article and “found no violation by Sen. McCain.”