Old news is still old to U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, no matter what his opponents say.

The 11-term Democrat from Nanticoke said partisan politics was behind a story published Wednesday in the Washington, D.C.-based Politico.com about the bankrupt research and development company that was headed by the congressman’s nephew, Peter Kanjorski.

“No doubt this inquiry was triggered by the relentless assault the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee launched against me in the 2002 campaign. The voters scrutinized their unfounded charges then and overwhelmingly re-elected me,” he said in a statement released Friday.

“But the Republicans will not give up. Now they are trying to recycle these baseless charges to encourage a candidate to run against me.”