Twitter Files journalist Matt Taibbi sues Democratic lawmaker for $10 million for defamation
Taibbi denies the allegations, and claims that he has never been accused of sexual harassment.
By Misty Severi
Published: April 3, 2025 7:05pm
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Twitter Files reporter Matt Taibbi on Thursday filed a $10 million lawsuit against Democratic California Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, after she appeared to accuse him of being a "serial sexual harasser" on social media.
Kamlager-Dove first made the assertion on the House floor on Tuesday, which is protected by the Speech and Debate clause of the Constitution, but later followed it up in a post on X where she stated that Taibbi was given time to defend himself and did not.
Taibbi responded to the allegations that he was a "serial sexual harasser" in a post on Racket News, where he announced the defamation lawsuit, stating he had never been accused of sexual harassment.
"There is not much a person like me can say to a member of Congress hiding behind the protections of the Speech and Debate clause of the Constitution," Taibbi wrote. "One can however respond to a member arrogant enough to repeat those claims on social media. I’ve now done so, in the form of a $10 million libel lawsuit filed today in a New Jersey federal court."
The reporter claimed the lawmaker relied on “unverified, decades-old satirical content that had been widely discredited by prior legal action and public corrections" to make the accusations.
“Defendant’s decision to republish the statements on X and her website, outside her legislative duties, further demonstrates an intent to harm Plaintiff’s reputation in his home state and beyond, rather than a good-faith engagement in legislative debate,” Taibbi's lawyers wrote in the lawsuit.
Kamlager-Dove has not publicly responded to the lawsuit so far.
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>>22865528 Twitter Files journalist Matt Taibbi sues Democratic lawmaker for $10 million for defamation