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Associated Press
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Judge dismisses former Mississippi governor's defamation lawsuit against news outlet
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A judge has dismissed a lawsuit by former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant that claimed a local news outlet defamed him in public comments about its Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting on the misspending of $77 million in federal welfare funds. The one-page ruling Friday by Madison County Circuit Court Judge Bradley Mills sided with lawyers for Mississippi Today, who had argued that the news outlet engaged in constitutionally protected speech. 'For the past 22 months, we've vigorously defended our Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting and our characterizations of Bryant's role in the Mississippi welfare scandal,' Mississippi Today said in a statement on its website. 'We are grateful today that the court, after careful deliberation, dismissed the case.' Bryant filed suit in 2023, weeks after Mississippi Today and one of its reporters, Anna Wolfe, won a Pulitzer Prize for her coverage of how welfare funds intended for poor Mississippians — some of the most impoverished people in the U.S. — were diverted to the rich and powerful. Bryant's lawsuit didn't challenge the accuracy of Wolfe's series, 'The Backchannel,' that shed light on the welfare scandal. Instead, Bryant's lawyers argued that the news outlet, its CEO and other employees made slanderous comments about Bryant when discussing the series in public settings, including a radio interview and a speech at a journalism conference. Attorneys for Mississippi Today argued that the comments Bryant claimed had harmed his reputation were 'entirely or substantially true,' and that Bryant failed to show any of the statements were made with 'actual malice' — meaning they were knowingly or recklessly false. Because of that, the lawyers said, Bryant didn't meet the legal standard for politicians and other public figures to prove defamation as set by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1964. Bryant's attorney, William Quin II, said Monday he will appeal the judge's dismissal to the Mississippi Supreme Court. 'This matter is far from over,' Quin said in an emailed statement. 'Governor Bryant remains confident in the legal basis of this case, and the righteousness of this cause.' The nonprofit Committee to Protect Journalists praised the judge's decision to throw out the lawsuit. 'Suing news organizations just because you don't like their reporting is a crude intimidation tactic that can drain resources and discourage critical coverage,' Katherine Jacobsen, the committee's U.S. program coordinator, said in a statement posted on X. 'We hope that this case serves as a deterrent to those who would seek to sue outlets into silence.' Prosecutors have said the state's human services agency gave money to nonprofit organizations that spent it on projects such as a $5 million volleyball facility at the University of Southern Mississippi — a project for which retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre agreed to raise money. Mississippi Auditor Shad White announced in February 2020 that criminal charges were brought against six people, including John Davis, a former Mississippi Department of Human Services executive director who had been chosen by Bryant. The announcement came weeks after Bryant, a Republican, finished his second and final term as governor. Davis and others have pleaded guilty. No criminal charges have been filed against Bryant, and he has said he told the auditor in 2019 about possible misspending of money from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families antipoverty program. Favre also has not been charged with a crime. The Pro Football Hall of Famer is among more than three dozen defendants in a civil lawsuit the state filed in 2022. The suit demands repayment of money that was misspent through TANF. White, the Republican state auditor, said in 2020 that Favre had improperly received $1.1 million in speaking fees from a nonprofit organization that spent welfare money with approval from the state Department of Human Services. White said Favre did not show up for the speeches. Although Favre repaid the $1.1 million, White said last year that he still owes nearly $730,000 in interest.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Could defamation suit between Phil Bryant and Mississippi Today head to the state supreme court?
A defamation lawsuit between a former Mississippi governor and Deep South Today, owner of Mississippi Today, an online news outlet, could be heading to the Mississippi Supreme Court. On Friday, Madison County Circuit Court Judge Bradley Mills dismissed a lawsuit in which Republican Gov. Phil Bryant claimed that Mississippi Today defamed him when some of its personnel made public statements characterizing his alleged role in a $100 million welfare scandal. Those remarks were given based on a Pulitzer Prize winning investigative series, "The Backchannel" by Anna Wolfe, which detailed the misuse and allocation of millions of dollars in federal funds via the Mississippi Department of Human Services. Mills in his order dismissing the lawsuit, said the court agreed with a motion to dismiss put forth by Mississippi Today's attorneys in June 2024. That motion, among other things, stated that Bryant had failed to plead any legally viable claims. "We are pleased the Court dismissed former Governor Phil Bryant's baseless defamation lawsuit against Mississippi Today," the news outlet's attorney Lee Crain told the Clarion Ledger via a written statement. "Mississippi Today's Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting on the former Governor's role in the State's recent welfare scandal is exactly the type of reporting the First Amendment was intended to protect, and it exemplifies why the Mississippi Constitution calls the right to a free press 'sacred.' The Court's decision honors those constitutional rights and ends once and for all Governor Bryant's unconstitutional crusade against Mississippi's free press.' Mississippi Today lawsuit: Lawsuit between Phil Bryant and Mississippi Today could send shockwaves throughout journalism Bryant, also in a written statement to the Clarion Ledger, said he intends to appeal the decision to the Mississippi Supreme Court. "This matter is far from over," Bryant said. "We plan to appeal. Justice can be found in our court systems when all of facts are finally presented. We will appeal this decision to the Mississippi Supreme Court in continued pursuit of the truth and for others who have been and will be wrongly accused and defamed.' The lawsuit was initially filed by Bryant in 2023 in the Madison County Circuit Court over comments made by Mississippi Today CEO Mary Margaret White during a speaking engagement. What White was referring to was Mississippi Today's news series 'The Backchannel' which delved into how at least $77 million in Temporary Assistance to Needy Family funds was funneled through MDHS and into the hands of those who misspent the money, meant for the state's poorest residents, on private projects. Feds want money back: Mississippi welfare scandal: US wants state to repay $101 million. What to know Bryant has neither been charged nor formally implicated by prosecutors in the welfare scandal case. Several of the people implicated in the reporting and through Mississippi State Auditor investigations have been criminally convicted in relation to the welfare scandal. In May, the Madison County Circuit Court ordered Mississippi Today to hand over confidential sources and other documents related to their coverage as discovery. Mississippi Today argued that violated its constitutional rights. Mississippi Today appealed that decision to the state Supreme Court, but the panel of judges chose not to hear the appeal. The dismissal of the case comes weeks after the federal government issued a letter to the Mississippi Department of Human Services demanding $110 million be paid back that were wrongfully spent during the welfare scandal. "For the past 22 months, we've vigorously defended our Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting and our characterizations of Bryant's role in the Mississippi welfare scandal," Mississippi Today said in a post to its website on Friday. "We are grateful today that the court, after careful deliberation, dismissed the case." Grant McLaughlin covers the Legislature and state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@ or 972-571-2335. This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Phil Bryant to appeal defamation lawsuit dismissal
