Nancy Mace sued for defamation after sharing sex abuse allegations in House floor speech

One of the four men accused of sexual abuse by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) in a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives is suing the congresswoman for defamation in a case set to test the speech or debate clause of the U.S. Constitution, according to Politico.

The clause "provides a legal shield for members of Congress for acts taken as part of their roles as lawmakers, including 'any Speech or Debate in either House,'" the article stated.

In February, Mace said on the House floor that she was raped, sex trafficked, and nonconsensually filmed by her ex-fiancé, South Carolina businessman Patrick Bryant, and three other men. Bryant categorically denied Mace's accusations.

As part of her floor speech, Mace displayed a "hotline" number she set up for abuse victims to tell their stories.

Mace said she decided to speak out publicly "because South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson had declined to act upon evidence of abuse that she said she provided," the article read. Wilson claimed Mace's accusations against his office were “categorically false,” and claimed he had “no knowledge” of an alleged assault until she took to the House floor.

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Brian Musgrave, one of the other men Mace named, filed the defamation suit in South Carolina federal court on Friday. According to the article, Musgrave also categorically denied the allegations, "saying he was not present during any alleged events Mace described and did not 'film' or 'incapacitate' anyone — adding she 'and her team destroyed the lives' of Musgrave and his family."

The lawsuit seeks "an unspecified award for compensatory and punitive damages to be determined by a jury 'sufficient to impress upon the Defendant the seriousness of her conduct and to deter such similar conduct in the future.'”

Members of Congress are "shielded" from legal action aimed at actions they've taken as lawmakers, including “any Speech or Debate in either House.”

In the filing, Musgrave argued 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."

Read the Politico article here.