Matt Taibbi looking to make congresswoman pay big-time for repeating her smear online

Investigative journalist Matt Taibbi filed a $10 million lawsuit Thursday against radical California Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D) over her allegation earlier in the week that he is a "serial sexual harasser."

Taibbi, who has flatly denied the already-debunked allegation, noted in his publication Racket News that he would have been more or less powerless to hold the California Democrat accountable for allegedly defaming him had she done so only during the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, where he spoke as a witness and countered the narrative slung by former Biden Disinformation Governance Board czar Nina Jankowicz.

After all, in Congress, Kamlager-Dove can hide "behind the protections of the Speech and Debate Clause of the Constitution," Taibbi noted.

'See you in court.'

The Democrat risked exposure to consequence, however, by posting the video of her remarks and the corresponding transcript to her congressional page; sharing her attack on X; and going so far as to insinuate on the liberal X knockoff BlueSky that the journalist's apparent unwillingness to dignify her accusations with a full-throated defense was somehow suggestive of guilt, writing, "Republicans gave Matt Taibbi time to defend himself. It's telling that he didn't."

"Rep. Kamlager-Dove, no woman has ever accused me of engaging in sexual harassment once, let alone serially," Taibbi wrote. "See you in court. Please do not evade service."

In her opening remarks Tuesday, Kamlager-Dove bemoaned Republican lawmakers' interest in the "censorship industrial complex" and characterized concerns about the Global Engagement Center — the now-closed State Department sub-agency deemed the "worst offender in U.S. government censorship & media manipulation" by Elon Musk in the wake of the Twitter Files — as a "made-up conspiracy theory."

After making clear that she was wasting everyone's time, Kamlager-Dove suggested that such hearings ultimately serve both as a distraction from the "dumpster fire" of the Trump administration's foreign policy and to elevate "a serial sexual harasser as [Republican lawmakers'] star witness."

Kamlager-Dove made clear that this attack was in reference to Taibbi.

'These statements are demonstrably false and were made with actual malice.'

In an apparent attempt to justify her drive-by smear, the Democrat requested unanimous consent to enter into the record a pair of articles written about Taibbi that describe the satirical contents of a book he co-authored with Mark Ames based on their time running a publication in Moscow.

The admission of the articles betrayed Kamlager-Dove, as they revealed that the basis for her smear was a misconception about the book that was cleared up with the help of other legal actions nearly a decade ago.

Emails obtained by Paste magazine show that a representative for the book's publisher made clear to the Guardian that the "book combines exaggerated, invented satire and nonfiction reporting and was categorized as nonfiction because there is no category for a book that is both."

The exaggerated or invented portions of the book included controversial passages penned by Ames that depicted the duo joking about harassing their female employees. The female employees referred to in the book told Paste magazine that the passages were indeed fictional.

"I was never harassed by Matt Taibbi, nor did I see him sexually harass anyone at work or outside work either," one of the employees told Paste. "It was a ridiculous passage written by Mark."

Another women referred to in the book confirmed that the scene Taibbi's various attackers had seized upon "never happened."

Despite the fictional nature of the controversial scenes, Kamlager-Dove made the same mistake as her fellow travelers at the Guardian, the Nation, and Newsweek, who ultimately had to correct their reporting on the matter and acknowledge their inaccuracies.

Taibbi's complaint noted that Kamlager-Dove's "false statement made during a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C. ... became defamatory statements as they were republished by Defendant on April 1, 2025."

The suit noted further that Taibbi has never been accused of, charged with, convicted of, or found liable for sexual harassment.

"These statements are demonstrably false and were made with actual malice — either with knowledge of their falsity or with reckless disregard for their truth — as required under New Jersey and federal law for a public figure such as [Taibbi]," said the defamation 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 lawsuit noted that the Democratic lawmakers' claims made outside the scope of her legislative duties "are not protected by the Speech and Debate Clause and are thus actionable."

Taibbi is seeking at least $10 million in compensatory damages for reputational harm, emotional distress, and economic loss, as well as punitive damages in an amount to be decided in a jury trial. He has also requested an injunction requiring the California Democrat to publicly retract her statements.

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