Man suing Mace files to block her attempt to replace her name in defamation suit

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Attorneys who represent a man suing U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace for defamation are fighting her attempt to remove her name from the suit in favor of “The United States.”

Brian Musgrave, one of the four men Mace accused of drug and sex crimes, is suing the First District Congresswoman in a lawsuit alleging defamation and multiple instances of libel.

Musgrave’s attorneys filed a response to a Mace motion to remove her name from the suit and to replace it with “The United States,” and then to dismiss the suit altogether.

Mace, in asking that “The United States” be substituted for her name in the suit, is arguing that her actions were done in the scope of her employment as a member of Congress.

Musgrave’s attorneys counter that argument in the memo:

It is neither within the scope of Ms. Mace’s employment, nor is it foreseeable to the United States:

a. That Ms. Mace would gain access to her ex-fiancé’s phone without his permission;

b. That Ms. Mace would use photographs obtained from her ex-fiancé’s electronic device without his consent to blackmail him for financial gain;

c. That Ms. Mace would resort to a speech on the floor of Congress to make good on a promise to bring about the ruination of her ex-fiancé when he refused to capitulate to her financial demands;

d. That Ms. Mace would use the floor of Congress and her social media outlets to accuse Brian Musgrave without any evidence of being a rapist, a sex trafficker and a predator.

The blackmail alleged refers to two houses that Mace owned with her ex-fiance, Patrick Bryant. Musgrave’s suit argues that Mace attempted to blackmail Bryant into giving her full ownership of the jointly-owned properties and that when he did not, she gave the House floor speech and launched a campaign of defamation against Musgrave were “in retribution.”

They also objected to the notion that American taxpayers should pay for the legal proceedings, which would be the case if Mace were allowed to have her name replaced with “The United States.”

“Mr. Musgrave anxiously awaits his day in court,” attorneys Ronnie Richter and Eric Bland said in a joint statement.

Mace, who represents South Carolina’s First Congressional District, spoke on the U.S. House floor on Feb. 10, and identified four men, including Musgrave, Bryant, and two others, all of whom she identified by name and by photograph, of being “rapists, predators and sex traffickers,” the lawsuit states.

The suit alleges that “Mace and her team destroyed the lives of Brian Musgrave and his family.”

Musgrave and Bryant have a longtime friendship and the two own an investment condominium and a home together on the Isle of Palms.

It is at this property that Mace alleges she and/or others were incapacitated, raped and filmed, but Musgrave states in the lawsuit that he was not present, did not incapacitate anyone, did not assist in any rape or saw any film of Mace’s alleged rape.

During Mace’s speech, she said she viewed a video of herself being raped and incapacitated on Bryant’s phone.

The Bland Richter Law Firm sent Mace an open letter on behalf of Musgrave, on Feb. 28, days after her speech. The letter stated Mace upended Musgrave’s life when she accused him “falsely” of being a rapist, a predator and a sex trafficker.

“Congresswoman Mace was asked to retract her allegations against Brian Musgrave and issue an apology and/or to produce any evidence to support her allegations,” his attorneys said in a statement.

But Congressional attorneys responded to that letter, saying Mace’s statements on the House floor are protected by the Speech or Debate Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Answering Musgrave’s demand that Mace turn over evidence linking him to any crime, Berry said Mace shared evidence with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and that any request for evidence should be directed to them.

Musgrave’s attorneys acknowledge that Mace is “afforded certain protections for her activities as a member of Congress,” but says the lawsuit seeks to “test the legal limits of that protection.”

“Musgrave contends the mere fact Ms. Mace was elected to serve as a United States Congresswoman does not grant her the power to destroy a man’s reputation with impunity and use the hallowed floor of the House of Representatives as a sanctuary to destroy him,” the defense team’s statement read. “Truth is the defense to defamation. Brian Musgrave welcomes the truth.”

“Now, it is with unbridled disgust that Brian Musgrave, through this lawsuit is forced to utter the words: ‘I am not a rapist.’ ‘I am not a predator.’ ‘I am not a sex trafficker.’ Through this action, Brian Musgrave seeks to recover that which has been wrongfully taken from him - his good name and reputation,” court documents state.

Musgrave’s lawsuit lists numerous posts on the social platform X repeating the allegations Mace made during the speech.

The lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction against further defamation, which would prevent Mace from defaming Musgrave.

SLED confirmed that it had an active investigation into accusations of assault, voyeurism and harassment involving Bryant following Mace’s speech.

“I categorically deny these allegations,” Bryant said. “I take this matter seriously and will cooperate fully with any necessary legal processes to clear my name.”

SLED did not confirm that is investigating any of the other three men Mace named. The agency has not commented on the investigation, saying only that it was still open.