Jackson, Miss. – A judge has dismissed a demand by former Mississippi Phil Bryant governor who claimed a local media that defamed him in public comments about his Pulitzer Prize winning reports on the Malvated $ 77 million in federal well -being funds.
The ruling of a page on Friday by the judge of the Circuit Court of Madison County, Bradley Mills, put on the side of lawyers for Mississippi today, who had argued that the media participated in a constitutionally protected speech.
“During the last 22 months, we have strongly defended our Pulitzer Prize winning reports and our characterizations of Bryant’s role in the Mississippi welfare scandal,” Mississippi Today said in a statement on his website. “We are grateful today that the court, after careful deliberation, dismissed the case.”
Bryant filed a lawsuit in 2023, weeks after Mississippi today and one of his reporters, Anna Wolfe, won a Pulitzer award For their coverage of how the well -being for the poor Mississippians, some of the most impoverished people in the United States, were diverted to the rich and powerful.
Bryant’s demand did not challenge the precision of the Wolfe series, “The Backchannel”, which shed light on the well -being scandal. On the other hand, Bryant’s lawyers argued that the media, their CEO and other employees made defamatory comments about Bryant when discussing the series in public environments, including a radio interview and a speech at a journalism conference.
Mississippi’s lawyers argued today that the comments that Bryant said they had damaged their reputation were “completely true or substantially true”, and that Bryant could not show any of the statements were made with “real malice”, which means that they were false to knowingly or imprudently false. Because of that, lawyers said, Bryant did not comply with the legal standard for politicians and other public figures to prove the defamation established by the United States Supreme Court in 1964.
Bryant’s lawyer, William Quin II, said Monday that he will appeal to the judge’s dismissal to the Mississippi Supreme Court.
“This issue is far from finishing,” Quin said in a statement sent by email. “Governor Bryant remains confident in the legal basis of this case and the justice of this cause.”
The non -profit committee to protect journalists praised the judge’s decision to throw the lawsuit.
“Demanding news organizations just because you do not like your reports is a raw intimidation tactic that can drain resources and discourage critical coverage,” said Katherine Jacobsen, the coordinator of the American program of the Committee, in a statement published in X. “We hope that this case serves as a deterrent for those looking for Sue of the points of sale.”
Prosecutors have said that the State Human Services Agency gave money to non -profit organizations that spent it on projects such as a $ 5 million volleyball installation at the University of Southern Mississippi, a project for which the retired field marshal from the NFL Brett Favre agreed to raise money.
The Mississippi Shad White auditor announced in February 2020 that criminal charges were presented against six people, including John Davis, a former executive director of the Mississippi Human Services Department that had been chosen by Bryant. The announcement came weeks after Bryant, a Republican, ended his second and final term as governor. Davis and others They have declared themselves guilty.
No criminal charges have been filed against Bryant, and he said he told the auditor in 2019 about the possible erroneous money of the temporary assistance program for needy families.
Favre has not been accused of a crime either. The member of the Professional Football Hall of Fame is among more than three dozen defendants in a civil lawsuit that the State presented in 2022. Demand requires the reimbursement of money that was evil through Tanf.
White, the Republican state auditor, said in 2020 that Favre had received incorrectly $ 1.1 million in talking about a non -profit organization that spent well -being money with the approval of the State Human Services Department. White said Favre did not appear in the speeches. Although Favre paid $ 1.1 million, White said last year that it still owes almost $ 730,000 in interest.
