Stolen Cox ads? It was just a matter of time

Charges of Nixonian-style dirty tricks are swirling in the Republican gubernatorial primary.

Campaign officials for Attorney General Mike Cox are claiming that someone stole unaired TV political advertisements -- which defend Cox from claims that he covered up a possible 2002 party at the Manoogian Mansion – and then posted them on YouTube, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Cox officials are asking the Michigan State Police to investigate the matter.

"We've seen a lot of unethical things happen in this campaign," said Nick DeLeeuw, campaign spokesman. "But Mike Cox's political opponents who did this have sunk to a new low by committing a crime and stealing private property."

Rumors that Cox covered up misconduct at the party have long hounded him. Cox’s office investigated the matter and concluded the party was merely an “urban legend.”

Cox is in a race for the Republican nomination with four other candidates.