A Response to a Member of Congress
Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Democrat of California, accused me of serial sex offenses in a public hearing, then said my lack of response was "telling." It's listed below
Sydney Kamlager-Dove, a Democrat representing California’s 37th district in Los Angeles, began her opening remarks in a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing Tuesday with a comment directed to me. “To distract from the dumpster fire this administration is pursuing,” she said, the Republicans were “elevating a serial sexual harrasser as their star witness.”
Right after the hearing, she re-tweeted the comment on X and BlueSky, writing, “After this, Republicans gave Matt Taibbi time to defend himself. It’s telling that he didn’t.”
There is not much a person like me can say to a member of Congress hiding behind the protections of the Speech and Debate clause of the Constitution.
One can however respond to a member arrogant enough to repeat those claims on social media. I’ve now done so, in the form of a $10 million libel lawsuit filed today in a New Jersey federal court:
Rep. Kamlager-Dove, no woman has ever accused me of engaging in sexual harrassment once, let alone serially. See you in court. Please do not evade service.
You testify in Congress for free. You travel at your own expense. Instead of gratitude for your time and expertise you get calumny.
I watched the hearing and had to turn it off after she spoke-- I was so put off by her debased remarks. I finally went back and watched your testimony. I do not think many of us could have soldiered on for the greater good after Kamlager-Dove's libel and slander. But you did it for us all.
GO MATT! GO!