Part of: Assignment Desk Works, LLC v. Alexis Berg · Musgrave v. Mace (2:25-cv-01823-RMG) · Litigation Overview & Court-Filing Index
Exclusive: Man accused as 'predator' by Rep. Nancy Mace breaks his silence
In an exclusive interview with CNN national correspondent Randi Kaye, aired the evening of March 10, 2025 as a segment on 'Anderson Cooper 360°', Brian Musgrave, one of the four men Rep. Nancy Mace named in her House floor speech, denied her allegations on camera: 'Absolutely not. No, no.' Mace's allegations are contested and unproven; the dispute is the subject of ongoing civil litigation.
Randi Kaye ·
"Absolutely not. No, no.", Brian Musgrave to CNN, when asked if he had done any of the things Rep. Nancy Mace alleged
CNN national correspondent Randi Kaye landed the first on-camera interview with Brian Musgrave, one of the four South Carolina men Rep. Nancy Mace named in her February 2025 House floor speech. The exclusive aired the evening of March 10, 2025 as a segment on Anderson Cooper 360°.
Video: Brian Musgrave's on-camera CNN interview, in which he denies Rep. Mace's allegations ("Absolutely not. No, no."). It plays from The Daily Beast's video player, the same CNN footage The Daily Beast embedded in its report, which notes Musgrave "denied the allegations on an interview with CNN." CNN does not permit its own player to be embedded off-site; the CNN segment is linked below.
Musgrave told CNN he could not place himself anywhere in Mace's account:
"I couldn't think of a context where I would be named in a floor speech by Nancy Mace at all.", Brian Musgrave
He described what the public accusation had already cost him:
"For the rest of my life, when someone Googles 'Brian Musgrave' this is going to be the thing.", Brian Musgrave
His wife, Jen Musgrave, also spoke to CNN, saying her husband was "nowhere near any of those things that she was accusing him of." Musgrave's attorneys at Bland Richter, LLP, Eric Bland and Ronnie Richter, framed the appearance around the limits of congressional privilege. "You can't use the House floor as a bullhorn to destroy people," Bland told CNN.
Mace has denied wrongdoing. The allegations she made against Musgrave are contested and unproven, and the dispute is the subject of ongoing civil litigation. Musgrave filed a federal defamation suit against Mace days later; it was dismissed with prejudice in August 2025 after the court substituted the United States for Mace under the Westfall Act, held the libel claims barred by the Federal Tort Claims Act, and dismissed the constitutional (Bivens) claim. The court expressly offered no opinion on the truth of any allegation. See the full story and the orders.
Watch it: CNN video →
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August 23, 2026 · DispatchMace Won't Talk About Brian Musgrave, and He Isn't Even Under the Gag Order
A year ago this week, a federal judge ended Brian Musgrave's defamation case against Rep. Nancy Mace, not because her 'predator' accusation was found true, but because the court held she was immune. Eighteen months after she named the Fort Mill businessman from the House floor, there is still no criminal charge, no evidence produced, no retraction, and SLED has told him he is not a target. Musgrave was never a party to the case Mace is gagged in, and his own case is closed, so nothing bars her from answering for the accusation. She simply does not.
March 14, 2025 · DispatchUS Rep. Nancy Mace sued for libel and defamation after making public accusations of abuse
Brian Musgrave, one of the four men Mace accused by name in her February 2025 House floor speech, filed a federal defamation and libel suit against her. The case was dismissed with prejudice on August 20, 2025: the court substituted the United States for Mace under the Westfall Act, held that the speech and related press and social-media statements were within the scope of her employment, and found the libel claims barred by the Federal Tort Claims Act. All allegations are contested; Mace denied wrongdoing.
February 11, 2025 · DispatchRep. Nancy Mace details accusations of rape and sexual abuse in a speech from the House floor
Mace used a 50-plus-minute House floor speech to accuse four named men, including her ex-fiancé Patrick Bryant, of rape, sex trafficking, and other crimes. All four men categorically denied the allegations to NBC. The speech triggered multiple defamation lawsuits and is central to ongoing litigation; all allegations are contested and unproven.
October 15, 2026 · Dispatch"She Would Have and Should Have Been Sued Into Bankruptcy": Three South Carolina Prosecutors on Nancy Mace's Accusations Against Brian Musgrave
Three of South Carolina's senior prosecutors reviewed the state investigation of Rep. Nancy Mace's accusations, and each wrote, in a letter now public, that her public accusations against Brian Musgrave lacked evidence. Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson called them 'spurious claims' resting on 'the lack of even a scintilla of evidence' (Aug. 14, 2026). Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone wrote that her statements 'branding Brian Musgrave a predator, a rapist, and a human trafficker are shocking' (Aug. 18). Sixteenth Circuit Solicitor Kevin Brackett wrote that 'there is not one speck of evidence' and that, had she not been protected by the Constitution, she 'would have and should have been sued into bankruptcy' (Aug. 21). FITSNews and ABC News 4 published the letters on Oct. 14, 2026. The letters are shown here. Musgrave has always denied the accusations. Mace has not retracted them.
October 11, 2026 · DispatchBrian Musgrave Sued Nancy Mace. The Court Threw It Out.
Brian Musgrave, one of the four men Nancy Mace named in her February 10, 2025 House floor speech, filed two defamation suits. The first, against Mace, was dismissed with prejudice on August 20, 2025 after the United States was substituted for her under the Westfall Act; the judge wrote that 'Plaintiff has no civil remedy to hold accountable persons he believes have defamed him' and that the court 'offers no opinion concerning the truthfulness or the lack of truthfulness' of her allegations. The second, against OAN's parent company and the Louder with Crowder podcast, produced a September 30, 2026 order: the parent company was dismissed without prejudice for lack of personal jurisdiction, and the podcast defendants won summary judgment because their statements were not susceptible to a defamatory meaning as to Musgrave. Neither court decided whether Mace's accusations are true. Musgrave denies them. Mace denies wrongdoing.
November 7, 2025 · DispatchNew Filings Accuse Nancy Mace of Fabricating Sexual Assault Claims
FITSNews covered Bryant's third-party complaint accusing Mace, Melissa Britton, and Jane Doe of conspiring to fabricate sexual assault allegations for personal and political gain. Bryant denied all underlying allegations. Mace denied Bryant's account and called the filing an attempt to pay her again. All allegations are contested; litigation is active.