Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is on the receiving end of a defamation lawsuit by one of four men including her ex-fiance that she accused of rape and recording sex acts with her and other women.

Brian Musgrave filed a suit against Mace, claiming she defamed him on the House floor last month and denying her allegations.

Musgrave claims he wasn't present for any of the incidents Mace described.

All four men, including Mace's ex-fiance Patrick Bryant, have denied the allegations.

Investigation underway

Mace said she turned over Bryant's phone, which she said had 10,000 photos and videos of the abuse on it, to authorities.

The South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division confirmed that Bryand is being investigated for assault, harassment and voyeurism.

“I accidentally uncovered some of the most heinous crimes against women imaginable – we are talking about rape, nonconsensual photos, nonconsensual videos of women and underage girls, and the premeditated, calculated, exploitation of women and girls in my district,” Mace said in a speech that lasted almost an hour.

Mace and Bryant broke up near the end of 2023, just after she said she discovered the evidence.

An exception

Musgrave would not normally be able to sue an elected official for defamation when their speech was made on the House floor because members of Congress are immune from prosecution for statements made on the floor.

In this case, though, Musgrave requested an exception to that rule because of the personal nature of the accusations.

“[The clause] does not transform the floor of Congress into a sanctuary for defamation, nor does it protect Congresswoman Mace’s extra-Congressional defamatory statements surrounding her speech,” the suit said.

The suit asked for unspecified compensatory and punitive damages  “sufficient to impress upon the Defendant the seriousness of her conduct and to deter such similar conduct in the future,” letting the jury decide if Mace is convicted.

What will happen

Mace has not offered any specific proof publicly since accusing the men, leading to speculation that her accusations might not be true.

The investigation into Bryant and possibly the others will likely have to be concluded to inform the suit, which may take some time.

Until then, all we have are allegations and defenses, which leave people confused about what actually happened.