U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry may sue a challenger over a TV ad.

The Cherryville Republican has threatened legal action against primary opponent Lance Sigmon over a 30-second ad that accuses him of "revealing troop positions" in Baghdad.

The ad says two Americans died after McHenry posted a video on his Congressional Web site about an attack on the Green Zone. It claims McHenry could face 10 years in prison because of an espionage act that prohibits aiding the enemy.

A letter from McHenry's attorney, Kelsey Williams of Hickory, tells Sigmon to "cease and desist" airing the ad, titled "Two Bit."

"Representative McHenry has never alluded to nor mentioned any positions of troops," said the letter, made public Monday. "Also, said ad asserts that the aforementioned video caused the death of two Americans. This statement is on its face false."

Williams also said the suggestion that McHenry violated espionage laws is also false. (Char-O)

The Pentagon told U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry that he should not re-air his Baghdad video.

The Cherryville Republican was criticized by a veterans group earlier this week for posting a video on his Congressional Web site giving details about the success of a rocket attack on the Green Zone during his trip there, Lisa Zagaroli reports.

McHenry then pulled the video and sent it to the Pentagon for review.

"The Congressman shot the video in the company of State Department and military personnel, and was not briefed on withholding its publication," his spokesman Wes Climer said in a written statement. "We voluntarily removed the video after learning that it might infringe on accepted protocol, and then contacted officials at the Department of Defense, who supported our decision."

A Pentagon spokesman said he didn’t know what McHenry was told, "but we routinely brief our operational rules to our visitors in Iraq and Afghanistan."

"We do not as a matter of policy discuss attacks in a way that would provide the enemy any better understanding of the effectiveness of their attacks," said Lt. Col. Todd Vician.