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Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
New major twist in alleged sexual assault case involving Nancy Mace's ex-finance
A new legal filing in an alleged assault case goes after the former fiance of Rep. Nancy Mace – as well as a top political consultant who accused her of using explosive photos for 'blackmail.' The filing by the alleged assault victim describes a 2018 incident where the alleged victim says a witness saw video footage of her being assaulted and filmed without her consent. She was allegedly passed out on the couch at a Sullivan's Island, South Carolina home at the time. The alleged assault featured in Mace's stunning House Floor speech after she threatened to go 'scorched earth' against people she called predators. It has since kicked off a series of suits and counter suits. The amended complaint hits back with new allegations against longtime South Carolina consultant Wesley Donehue, whose newly revealed deposition appeared to undermine some of Mace's claims about the case. Donehue says he 'fired' Mace as a client because she was becoming 'erratic and unstable.' His allegations came under oath in a deposition that DailyMail revealed in May. In his sworn deposition, the consultant accused Mace of engaging in blackmail when she asked him to contact her former fiance, Patrick Bryant, to tell him she had obtained video evidence from his phone and use it as 'leverage' to gain ownership of two homes they were squabbling over in DC and Isle of Palms, South Carolina. The homes have a combined value of $5 million. A source familiar with the matter denied the blackmail charge. The 'Jane Doe' suit alleges that Mace's ex-fiance gave Mace access to his phone after a pastor told the then-couple Bryant needed to 'build trust' and she subsequently viewed his phone while he was sleeping. Mace then found photos and images of the alleged sexual assault, the complaint alleges. It says Mace was 'haunted' by the images, finally establishing contact with the alleged victim in 2024, about a year before her stunning House floor speech where she referenced the alleged assault and identified four men as alleged sexual 'predators.' According to the amended complaint, it is Donehue who engaged in 'blackmail.' It says the longtime consultant who dumped Mace as a client made 'false and defamatory statements about Mace' that also 'prejudiced Plaintiff.' The filing says Mace had reported pictures and images she found on Bryant's phone to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) in December 2023 – 'well before she talked to Donehue.' 'Therefore, she could not have asked Donehue to blackmail Bryant, because Bryant was already under investigation at the time,' the filing says. The Daily Mail has reached out to Donehue for comment. The complaint also took on Donehue's dramatic public firing of Mace. He had posted: 'I fired Nancy Mace as client a few months back because I'm a political consultant and not a babysitter, a sex therapist or a doctor who can prescribe fixes for chemical imbalances. 'I don't have time for her constant egotistical bulls*** and drama in my life.' The suit said Mace and Bryant had settled their property dispute by May of 2024, before Donehue fired Mace, 'so she would not have asked Donehue to blackmail Bryant.' Mace accused her ex-fiancé Patrick Bryant (right) and two of his associates, including John Osborne (left) of planning and filming the assault Businessman Eric Bowman, 45, left, and software entrepreneur Brian Musgrave, 51, right, were two of four men Mace accused in her floor speech of being involved in the alleged sexual assault of an intoxicated woman at Bowman's home in 2018. All four men have categorically denied the claims 'Moreover, emails reveal the real reason that Donehue fired Mace as a client is that she wanted access to her Google Analytics, and Donehue didn't want to give her access to her own data,' the lawsuit says. It provides no further details on the the cause of the break. 'Donehue, not Mace, is the one engaged in blackmail,' the filing alleges. 'In December of 2024, Donehue sent Mace hostile and threatening text messages when she had a public dispute with Trey Gowdy, one of Donahue's [sic]. Donehue texted Mace "And let me be very clear with you. You do not want to pick a fight with me ...' And in yet another sweeping allegation, the lawsuit accuses Mace's ex-fiance Bryant of establishing an LLC for the 'improper' purpose of conducting depositions to 'disseminate false information and discredit the Plaintiff's witensses, thereby interfering with her right to have a fair and impartial jury in future criminal and civil proceedings.' Mace has filed a motion to intervene in the Jane Doe case. The lawsuit names three men as defendants: Bryant, John Osborne, and Eric Bowman, as well as two companies as well as three LLCs. State police opened an investigation into her bombshell claims in February. Bryant told Daily Mail in a statement, 'I'm doing everything I can to clear my name. I've answered every allegation in court, secured key witness testimony, and I remain committed to making sure the whole truth, not rumor, comes to light about me and my businesses.' Bowman has previously said he has spoken to SLED and denies wrongdoing. SLED has confirmed it opened an investigation into Bryant. Bryant issued a statement immediately after Mace's February 10 speech - which aired live to the nation on CSPAN - saying: 'I categorically deny these allegations.' And Osborne previously told The Post & Courier: 'The claims are categorically untrue and it is completely unfair to be looped into such accusations.' None of the people Mace identified have been charged with a crime. The legal filing says Bowman and Bryant 'defamed' the plaintiff online and accuses them of 'humiliating' her on social media. Bowman, the first of the four branded as predators on the House floor by Mace, previously told the Daily Mail that the accuser fell into his pool while drunk and passed out on his couch. 'She walked inside by herself and went to dry off in the bathroom and put herself on the couch. She was fully coherent until she put herself to sleep,' he said. 'At some point her boyfriend comes and picks her up. That's it,' he said.
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Nancy Mace used naked photos in twisted blackmail scheme to profit off her toxic ex alleges former staff
Nancy Mace sought to use naked images taken from her ex-fiance's phone to try to secure a full interest in two valuable homes from him, her former advisor alleges in a bombshell new deposition. The advisor says under oath Mace asked him to meet with her ex and use the images as leverage – long before Mace delivered a stunning House floor speech where she said she had 'receipts' that would bring down a ring of predators and sex traffickers. The former advisor, Wesley Donehue, says in the deposition the South Carolina congresswoman asked him to relay information to her ex-fiance Patrick Bryant about photos and videos she said she found on his phone of multiple women. One was of a 'girl on a couch' who according to Mace was 'passed out.' Another was a picture of Mace – Mace says it was of her getting up to use the bathroom, according to the deposition. Her intention was to use the information 'as leverage to gain 100 percent ownership' of two homes she shared with Bryant, one in Washington, DC, and another in Isle of Palms, South Carolina, Donehue said in the deposition. The properties have a combined value of more than $5 million. 'Did she specifically say to you 'Please meet with Patrick and show him these images and tell him I'll make them public if he doesn't give me both houses?' a lawyer for Bryant asked the former Mace advisor. 'Yes,' he responded. Asked if it was 'effectively an effort to extort or blackmail Patrick,' Donehue responded, 'Yeah.' Donehue knew both parties, but said the role made him uncomfortable and put him in the middle of a fraught situation. A source familiar with the matter said Donehue was making 'a wild, outlandish allegation.' 'He thought he was helping his friend, but all he did was confirm her story,' said the source, who called Donehue a 'disgruntled former vendor' who is close friends with Bryant. The deposition comes after Donehue met with SLED, the South Carolina law enforcement department, and after he was subpoenaed by lawyer for her ex, he told FITS news, a South Carolina political site, and is connected to a civil case. SLED has confirmed it opened an investigation into Byant following Mace's allegations against him. None of the people Mace has accused have been charged with a crime. Donehue recalled the conversation he had on Mace's behalf as taking place at a lunch meeting in November 2023. Mace and Bryant had been battling over their jointly owned $3.9 million beach home and their $1.3 million Washington, D.C. property, DailyMail reported in December 2023. has reached out to Mace and the lawyer who conducted the deposition. The deposition came to light a day after Mace in an extraordinary public hearing on voyeurism followed up on her earlier accusations of Bryant and other men of being sexual 'predators' and running a rape and sex trafficking ring. The men have vigorously denied the allegations, which Mace first leveled in a shocking speech on the House floor. During the hearing Mace shared what she said was a 'naked silhouette' of herself that she said was taken without her consent. Donehue also spoke in the deposition about what he said was Mace's state of mind before he says he 'fired' her – in just one instance of the staff turmoil she has experienced. 'She was losing a lot of weight, she was getting what she called stress tattoos ... she was emotionally distraught at this point in the year. And in my view, her emotional stability was crumbling.' 'So I don't wanna make it seem like she was just this machine that didn't care about anything. She very much cared. But it was coming across as erratic and unstable.' Mace was at the White House this week as first lady Melania Trump attended the bill signing for a bill to stop revenge porn, and continues to advocate for women she says are victims of abuse after promoting a new hotline for complaints on the House floor. She shared multiple images at a House subcommittee she chaired Tuesday, although portions of the images were blocked out, and some appeared to be taken from a home security camera in a living room area. Donehue also spoke in the deposition about Mace saying 'inappropriate' things in their former interactions. 'Nancy talks about her sex life in a way that I've never heard a client or a woman talk about,' said Donehue, a consultant who operates Push Digital Group and other companies. He said 'it's like every conversation would devolve into what's going on in her sex life…something that she talked about all the time and I always felt uncomfortable with.' He also said in the deposition that even after she said she felt for her safety she said she was 'going to the Caribbean with Patrick and some of his friends, which I questioned, because I said "Nancy, you can't say that you fear for your safety and you're going to the Caribbean with him and some of his friends.' 'Then she said - and I remember as clear as day - "I'm taking my free vacation in the Caribbean.' He says he told her 'Nancy, as your campaign consultant, if it ever comes out that you knew of women being harmed and you didn't do anything about it, your career is over,' he said. He ultimately 'cut ties' with her for a variety of reasons, saying he felt 'uncomfortable' with the things Mace was asking him to do, according to his deposition testimony. Bryant has denied Mace's allegations against him, calling them false and malicious. Another man Mace identified, South Carolina businessman Brian Musgrave, has sued Mace for defamation, and she has countersued, claiming he defamed her through 'malicious and objectively false attacks on her fitness to hold public office.' Donehue was asked during his deposition about Mace's scorched earth floor speech earlier this year and how it compared to what she told him back in 2023. 'The only ... accusation ... was that Patrick was in possession of pictures of naked women taken without their consent and without them knowing he still had them. There was never any discussion of rape or sex trafficking or anything beyond the fact that he had pictures of naked women taken without their consent,' he responded. He also says in the deposition Mace spoke to him of being physically assaulted by Bryant, and she at one point 'she had a number of bruises on her arm' that he said were 'fingertip-size' above her elbow and that she said he grabbed her. At another point, he said Mace told him Bryant was doing some 'shady things' that 'she was upset and felt for her safety and was planning on breaking up with him.'
Al Bawaba
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
Video: Nancy Mace shares 'nude' photos taken without her consent, accuses ex-fiancé
ALBAWABA - US Representative Nancy Mace has once again made headlines after sharing a "naked silhouette" of her body during a House hearing, alleging that they were taken without her consent by her ex-fiancé, Patrick Bryant. During the "surveillance in private spaces" hearing on Tuesday, Mace explained how she was a victim of non-consensual filming and sexual assault, accusing Bryant and other unnamed men of the act. Nancy Mace said, "Freedom is not a theory. It is the right to breathe. It is the right to dress and undress, to sleep without someone's camera filming your naked body." Aside from the naked silhouette, The congresswoman then revealed a screenshot of an alleged naked silhouette and said, "Behind me is a screenshot from one of the videos I found of myself. The yellow circle, my naked silhouette, is my naked body." Before the hearing, Nancy Mace took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and wrote, "Today I will show my naked body on one of the videos predator and rapist Patrick Bryant took of me and many other women." In response, Bryant denied the allegations in question, deeming them "false and outrageous" and will "take additional steps to clear his name at the right time." He added that it was a mistake "loving and trusting someone who later weaponized our relationship."
The Independent
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Nancy Mace shows nude photo of herself in House hearing as she says she was recorded without consent
Rep. Nancy Mace presented a nude photograph of herself to Congress on Wednesday that she said had been taken without her consent as she revived allegations of sexual abuse against her former fiancé and three other men. Mace, 47, presented the blurry 'naked silhouette' during a hearing for the House Cybersecurity, Information Technology and Government Innovation Subcommittee, which she chairs, on the subject of 'Breach of Trust: Surveillance in Private Spaces.' The image was just one of several censored images of naked women the congresswoman presented that she claimed had been retrieved from private recordings belonging to Charleston tech entrepreneur Patrick Bryant, to whom she was engaged between 2022 and 2023. Bryant and the other men accused have denied any wrongdoing. 'I would run through a brick wall to protect women and girls in South Carolina and to other potential victims,' Mace said during her address. 'I want you to know I have your back.' The episode followed the shocking speech the same representative delivered to the House of Representatives in February, in which she accused Bryant and three accomplices of engaging in sex crimes against her and other women. Mace spoke for almost an hour on that occasion and claimed that, in November 2023, she had discovered a digital cache of more than 10,000 videos and photos that showed Bryant and his associates abusing numerous women, including herself. Bryant has vehemently denied Mace's negotiations and reiterated his denials on Tuesday, saying in a statement: 'I have never raped anyone. I have never hidden cameras. I have never harmed any woman. These accusations are not just false – they are malicious and deeply personal. 'Nancy Mace made these claims only while standing in Congress, purportedly shielded by legal immunity. If she believed them to be true and there was evidence to support her accusations, she would say them outside the chamber – away from her public role and protections and pursue them through proper legal channels. She has not done so, because she cannot.' Mace has since been sued for defamation by one of the men she accused in that speech. In turn, she brought a lawsuit of her own against another, alleging he had 'repeatedly and maliciously defamed' her on social media. A lawyer with the U.S. Attorney's Office in South Carolina told a court earlier this month that he would be representing Mace in the first suit, which suggests she is likely to employ a defense arguing that her comments were protected under congressional privilege, a legal shield to safeguard free speech in the House and Senate. Mace concluded her remarks to the subcommittee on Tuesday by batting aside the legal threats against her, declaring: 'Bring it on, brother, because there is no defamation in the truth. And if you're going to be the kind of moron and monster that sues his own victims, may God help you.'
Time of India
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Nancy Mace shows her nude photo taken without consent to push for punishment for her ex-fiancé
Nancy Mace showed her nude photo taken without her consent through secret camera by her ex-fiance. Republican representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina displayed her nude photo during a hearing at House oversight subcommittee hearing on "surveillance in private spaces". "Today I will show my naked body on one of the videos predator and rapist Patrick Bryant took of me and many other women. Without our knowledge. Without our permission. And without our consent," Nancy Mace announced earlier. The Republican leader accused her ex-fiancé Patrick Bryant and three other men of rape, sex trafickking and non-consensually filming sex acts including hers. "I speak not just as a lawmaker, but as a survivor. Starting on November 5, 2023, I discovered my former fiancé, Patrick Bryant, had filmed women without their knowledge, without their permission and without their consent. He filmed rape too. He appeared to catalogue the footage in the way he saved the files. And he stored these images for years. This isn't just creepy. It's criminal—but only under weak state laws," she said as she spoke in front of the committee. — RepNancyMace (@RepNancyMace) She produced her picture first and said it was a screenshot of her naked silhouette, which was filed in secret. "The camera sat silent, yet it screamed my safety was negotiable and my dignity disposable," she said as sh went on to produced photos of the building, the camera that had over 10,000 videos saved on it. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trading CFD dengan Teknologi dan Kecepatan Lebih Baik IC Markets Mendaftar Undo "These weren't accidents. They were premeditated. Planned. Filmed. Stored. Meticulously Organized. Catalogued. Private hidden folder. For YEARS. I would learn after finding these images, and speaking to potential victims, Bryant allegedly raped at least three women," Nancy Mace said. "Predators like Patrick Bryant don't ask permission, and neither should justice. A hidden camera does not erase liberty and doesn't deserve a slap on the wrist. Justice also does not crawl out of a plea deal, it arrives in a sentence that fits the crime and restores the victim," the Republican leader said.
