South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace was slammed for “lies” in a defamation lawsuit filed by the man she called a “predator,” setting up a potential legal fight over free speech privileges granted to Congress members.
Mace accused Brian Musgrave and three other men of “premeditated and calculated exploitation of women and girls” in an explosive 53-minute tirade on the House floor last month. She further claimed that she found more than 10,000 hidden camera videos and photos, and the men had participated in rape and sex trafficking.
Musgrave rebuked those claims as “baseless” and “false allegations” in the suit filed Friday in a South Carolina federal court. He is seeking punitive damages in an amount that will “impress upon [Mace] the seriousness of her conduct and to deter such similar conduct in the future.”
Musgrave’s suit is also looking to challenge the speech and debate Constitutional clause that protects official conduct by Congress members.
The complaint argues that the clause “does not transform the floor of Congress into a sanctuary for defamation, nor does it protect Congresswoman Mace’s extra-Congressional defamatory statements surrounding her speech.”
However, a source close to Mace’s office has signaled that they intend to stand up her statements as protected by the clause, pointing to comments made by House of Representative’s General Counsel Matthew Berry.
Berry called it “factually inaccurate” for Musgrave to assert that Mace’s claims did not advance legislation and should not be protected. He added that federal attorneys will “vigorously” defend her in court, reported Live 5.
Musgrave told CNN that Mace’s claims have had a “catastrophic” effect on his life and livelihood.
“For the rest of my life, when someone Googles ‘Brian Musgrave’ this is going to be the thing that comes up,” Musgrave said Monday, with his wife beside him. “I’m completely uncertain what tomorrow is going to be business-wise.”
