The argument involves some land of fallacy Identify the fall

The argument involves some land of fallacy. Identify the fallacy. When confronted with questions from the press about alleged scandals. a congressman replies that the allegations against him should be ignored since his accuser is part of a vast right-wing conspiracy. Appeal to popularity Personal attack (ad hominem) Limited choice Circular reasoning

Solution

Instead of attacking the allegations, the congressman attacks the accuser, accusing him of being part of a large right-wing conspiracy. Although it may or may not be true, it is irrelevant to the scandal accusations. But instead of talking about the scandals, the congressman decides to attack the messenger, not the message (in this case, the accuser).

This is an example of Ad Hominem attack where a personal attack on the person making the allegations is made instead of countering the allegations themselves. Correct answer is (b).