(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The Trump administration has stepped in to defend a Democratic congresswoman who is facing a civil, $10 million defamation lawsuit filed by journalist Matt Taibbi.
Taibbi filed the federal lawsuit in April against Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., after she allegedly falsely accused him of being a “serial sexual harasser” during both a congressional hearing and on social media.
Taibbi a key witness during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the “censorship industrial complex.”
🚨NEW: Trump's DOJ has intervened in support of a Democrat lawmaker who's being sued by reporter @mtaibbi
Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba says the DOJ will file a motion to dismiss Taibbi's lawsuit against Rep. Kamlager-Dove, who last year baselessly accused him of being a… pic.twitter.com/COc6q5HUTQ— Headline USA (@HeadlineUSA) August 26, 2025
On Aug. 19, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba filed a request for pre-motion conference, saying that the department intends to file a motion to dismiss for “lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.” The filing was first reported by CourtWatch.
The DOJ argued that Taibbi did not properly seek remedies through the Federal Tort Claims Act, and that the act protects Kamlager-Dove’s comments made during her official duties as a member of Congress.
“This is a single-count defamation action brought against Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove for statements made while acting within the scope of her employment as a member of Congress,” the filing stated.
They added that the court “should dismiss” Taibbi’s complaint.
Taibbi appeared to anticipate that Kamlager-Dove’s comments could be shielded by the Constitution’s Debate Clause. However, he argued that the congresswoman’s online sharing of the accusations is not protected.
“These statements are demonstrably false and were made with actual malice—either with knowledge of their falsity or with reckless disregard for their truth,” Taibbi’s attorneys wrote in the lawsuit.
“The allegations echo prior false claims that have been the subject of legal action and multiple public corrections, of which Defendant was undoubtedly aware, evidencing her actual malice,” the attorneys added.
🚨 Matt Taibbi Files $10M Lawsuit Against Rep. Kamlager-Dove for Calling Him a “Serial Sexual Harasser”
The Lawsuit
On April 3, 2025, journalist Matt Taibbi filed a $10 million federal lawsuit against Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Foreign… pic.twitter.com/qMaRo650jl
— PitunisWorld 🌎 (@ScMesab) April 3, 2025
Kamlager-Dove’s accusations stem from a satirical piece Taibbi once wrote, according to the Daily Wire. It reported:
“Taibbi has not been accused of or charged with sexual harassment by any woman. The articles that the congresswoman appears to be referring to describe a satirical passage in a book Taibbi co-authored about writing a Moscow nightlife guide in 1990s Russia.
“The women referenced in the passage have both been interviewed and confirmed that Taibbi never sexually harassed them. Several news outlets have issued updates to articles referring to the passage to clarify its satirical nature and remove inaccurate statements about Taibbi.”
The Trump administration’s defense of a Democrat lawmaker is not unprecedented, as past governments have similarly shielded members of Congress from lawsuits.
