A federal judge Wednesday dismissed a defamation case against Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC).
The case had revolved around Mace accusing a man, Brian Musgrave, of sexual abuse and voyeurism in a speech on the House floor in February. Musgrave sued Mace in March for defamation and has denied the allegations against him.
U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel did not address whether Mace defamed Musgrave but acknowledged that he may not be able to recover damages even if he was defamed.
The Department of Justice had sought to intervene in the case and replace Mace and her staffers as defendants by saying they were acting within the scope of their jobs, which would make them immune.
Gergel, in his ruling, agreed that the DOJ could intervene in the case but on the condition that Mace owed Musgrave damages for violating his constitutional rights. Still, the judge dismissed that claim too, saying it wasn’t allowed in defamation cases and that Mace was protected anyway by the Constitution’s speech or debate clause.
“Congress has weighed the risks and benefits … and concluded that libel and related claims against federal officials acting within the scope of their employment are barred under federal law. It is this Court’s duty to uphold the rule of law,” Gergel wrote.
Musgrave was one in a group of four South Carolina men that Mace accused of being “rapists, peeping toms or voyeurs, and sex traffickers.” His lawsuit had stated that he spent hours telling family and friends “to let them know that his name and likeness would appear on the floor of Congress and that he would be falsely accused of being a rapist, a predator and a sex trafficker.”
Musgrave’s attorney, Eric Bland, said in a statement that the move to toss the case allows elected officials to “say and do anything they want.”
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“It seems patently unfair that a United States citizen who lives a law-abiding life can be grouped and called a rapist and a predator without any proof, and it can be done over and over again with immunity (and impunity),” he said.
Mace hailed the judge’s move to dismiss the case: “Today the court proved the US Constitution is the LAW OF THE LAND,” Mace said in a statement. “They came after me because I stood up for victims and demanded crime be prosecuted. Today’s court decision proves their lies and attacks won’t break me. I’ve put my career on the line to fight crime and drafted legislation to strengthen our laws. And I’ll never stop fighting for law and order.”