Earlier this week, Matt Taibbi was called as a witness by the Republican majority of a subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Before his testimony began, Democratic Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove slandered him:
Sydney Kamlager-Dove, a Democrat representing California’s 37th district in Los Angeles, began her opening remarks in a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing Tuesday with a comment directed to me. “To distract from the dumpster fire this administration is pursuing,” she said, the Republicans were “elevating a serial sexual harrasser as their star witness.”
That assertion was an outrageous lie, but presumably Ms. Kamlager-Dove believed she was protected by the Constitution’s Speech and Debate Clause, giving her a license to lie with impunity. But Kamlager-Dove screwed up. She repeated her slander of Taibbi on X and BlueSky, commenting: “After this, Republicans gave Matt Taibbi time to defend himself. It’s telling that he didn’t.” That is to say, Taibbi proceeded with his planned testimony and was not distracted by her slander.
If Kamlager-Dove had only defamed Taibbi in the committee hearing, she would have been safe. But, by repeating her defamation in other venues, she exposed herself to a lawsuit. Which Matt immediately brought. Here is his well-drawn Complaint; click on the link to read it:
I wish Matt well in his lawsuit. The Democrat’s claim that he was a “serial sexual harasser” was false, fabricated, and asserted with actual malice. I expect that Taibbi will win the case, and Kamlager-Dove will be left bankrupt.
Taibbi’s experience is much like what Center of the American Experiment’s policy fellows have experienced when they have been asked to testify before committees in Minnesota’s legislature this year. Because American Experiment is Minnesota’s leading conservative voice, it has become routine for Democratic legislators to smear us as “far right,” and above all, “racist.” These slanders are asserted under what Democrats believe to be their unqualified privilege as legislators to lie, so that we have no legal recourse.
Here is an example: hyper-partisan Democrat Senator Judy Seeberger said, in committee, that testimony under oath by an American Experiment policy fellow “presented a blatantly racist agenda to this committee.”
Seeberger referred to a presentation by our public safety policy fellow that was taken from this report. The report, consisting of data, statistics, charts and graphs, conclusively shows that there is no evidence of racial bias in Minnesota’s criminal justice system. As one of those responsible for Minnesota’s criminal justice system, one might expect Seeberger to be pleased by this news. But no: the far-left narrative, although utterly false, must always prevail.
Seeberger’s characterization of our report as “blatantly racist” is plainly libelous and actionable, just like Kamlager-Dove’s smear of Matt Taibbi. Her only defense is Minnesota’s constitutional Speech and Debate Clause. We are currently reviewing our legal options with counsel; perhaps the Speech and Debate Clause, not exactly the same as the federal one, will not protect Seeberger and others.
In any event, if Seeberger repeats her defamation outside the confines of the Capitol Building, we will sue her. If we sue for $10 million, even a lowball $5 million verdict most likely would bankrupt her.
I would like nothing better than the opportunity to make dishonest political hacks like Judy Seeberger pay for their actionable lies. With luck, perhaps we will be able to commence one or more lawsuits in the near future.
