Twitter Files journalist Matt Taibbi sues Democratic lawmaker for $10 million for defamation

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.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.