They say justice delayed is justice denied. When it is swift, however, it can be a thing of beauty. On Tuesday, Democrat Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA), as Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia, used her opening remarks in a hearing regarding the Censorship Industrial Complex to call independent journalist Matt Taibbi, one of the witnesses for the hearing, "a serial sexual harasser."
There's a rather glaring problem with Kamlager-Dove's assertion: It's false. But while she might have been able to hide behind the Constitution's Speech and Debate Clause, which shields members of Congress from being sued for actions taken during legislative proceedings, Kamlager-Dove's decision to quadruple down on her defamatory statement by sharing it on X, BlueSky, and her official congressional website following the hearing appears to have put her in the soup.
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Even better (or worse), Kamlager-Dove chose to ridicule Taibbi for opting not to defend himself during the hearing, characterizing it as "telling." Well, now he has.
On Thursday, Taibbi responded to her slur by filing a lawsuit against Kamlager-Dove for libel in federal court in New Jersey, seeking $10 million in compensatory damages as well as punitive damages.
Taibbi announced the suit's filing on X and on his Substack:
No woman has ever accused me of engaging in sexual harrassment once, let alone serially.
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) April 3, 2025
See you in court.
Please do not evade service. https://t.co/pIUNYYWHg0 pic.twitter.com/fFFTcPqS3A
There is not much a person can say to a member of Congress hiding behind the speech and debate clause of the Constitution. I can however respond to a member arrogant enough to repeat defamatory claims on social media.
See below for the $10 million libel lawsuit filed today.
No woman has ever accused me of engaging in sexual harrassment once, let alone serially.
See you in court.
Please do not evade service.
Having watched the hearing live, I was astounded when I heard Kamlager-Dove's statement. I might have even let out an expletive, albeit via acronym. I'm used to watching the Democrats' unhinged behavior in these hearings, but even I was surprised by the vicious smear.
Taibbi's "America This Week" podcast partner, Walter Kirn, remarked on Taibbi's announcement, noting that it was accompanied by "his characteristic moderation."
With his characteristic moderation
— Walter Kirn (@walterkirn) April 3, 2025
Excellent https://t.co/SNTABhMsJv
I'll confess, part of me hopes Kamlager-Dove opts to defend the suit rather than fold, just so that I can enjoy watching it play out. And there's a delicious sense of irony that a sitting member of Congress opted to engage in one of the limited — and well-established — exceptions to free speech protections in relation to a hearing on censorship.
In any case, kudos to Taibbi for opting to respond in spectacular fashion.
The full complaint may be viewed below.
Taibbi Suit by Susie Moore on Scribd
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