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Brian Musgrave

South Carolina private citizen publicly named by Rep. Nancy Mace in a February 2025 House floor speech alleging sexual misconduct; Musgrave denied all allegations and subsequently sued Mace for defamation.

Brian Musgrave
Credit: Photo from the board Rep. Nancy Mace posted publicly outside her Capitol office. Source

Brian Musgrave is a South Carolina private citizen who was publicly named by U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) in her February 10, 2025, House floor speech. He is reported to be a longtime friend and co-owner of an Isle of Palms condominium with Patrick Bryant, another man Mace named in the same speech. Musgrave had no prior public profile before being named.

Musgrave speaks on camera about Mace's accusations and his defamation suit against her: "It's catastrophic," he said. He denies all of the allegations. (Source: ABC News 4 / WCIV, via YouTube.)

What Happened

February 10, 2025, House floor speech. In a nearly hour-long speech delivered from the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Mace publicly named Musgrave, along with Patrick Bryant and two other South Carolina men, and alleged that they had committed rape, voyeurism, sex trafficking, and other sex crimes against multiple women, including Mace herself. Mace also alleged the crimes involved hidden-camera recordings and that some victims were underage. The speech was widely covered by national media.

Musgrave's denial. Musgrave denied all allegations. Through his attorneys at Bland Richter, LLP, Eric Bland and Ronnie Richter, he specifically denied any connection to any recording device referenced in Mace's speech. His lawyers stated publicly: "Brian did not own the camera. Brian did not have the password for the camera. Brian did not have the ability to access the camera digitally. Brian never viewed anything on the camera. Brian never recorded anything using the camera."

March 10, 2025, CNN exclusive, aired on Anderson Cooper 360°. Musgrave gave his first on-camera interview to CNN national correspondent Randi Kaye, in an exclusive that aired the evening of March 10, 2025 as a segment on Anderson Cooper 360°. Asked whether he had done any of the things Mace described, Musgrave answered: "Absolutely not. No, no." He said he could not even place himself in the context of her speech, "I couldn't think of a context where I would be named in a floor speech by Nancy Mace at all", and described the lasting personal toll: "For the rest of my life, when someone Googles 'Brian Musgrave' this is going to be the thing." His wife, Jen Musgrave, told CNN her husband was "nowhere near any of those things that she was accusing him of." His attorney Eric Bland framed the legal stakes for CNN: "You can't use the House floor as a bullhorn to destroy people."

Brian Musgrave's CNN interview, aired on Anderson Cooper 360° on March 10, 2025: asked whether he did what Mace alleged, he answers "Absolutely not. No, no." It plays from The Daily Beast's video player, the same CNN footage The Daily Beast embedded in its report. CNN does not permit its own player to be embedded off-site; the CNN segment is linked below. (Source: CNN, via The Daily Beast.)

Watch the CNN segment: Anderson Cooper 360° / Randi Kaye exclusive →

February, March 2025, Open letter and lawsuit demand. Musgrave's attorneys sent Mace a four-page open letter demanding she either produce evidence implicating him, retract her allegations, and publicly apologize, or face litigation. House General Counsel declined to provide evidence, redirecting inquiries to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), which had opened a separate investigation into Mace's broader claims.

March 2025, Defamation lawsuit filed. Musgrave filed a federal defamation suit against Mace in U.S. District Court (District of South Carolina), alleging libel. The suit focused on the prepared text of the speech distributed to the press, a poster displayed outside Mace's congressional office, and social media posts Mace published on X (formerly Twitter).

August 2025, Lawsuit dismissed. U.S. District Judge Richard Mark Gergel dismissed the case with prejudice. The court substituted the United States as defendant under the Westfall Act and ruled that Mace's floor speech was protected by the Speech or Debate Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which shields Members of Congress from civil suits arising from official legislative acts. Musgrave's attorneys publicly criticized the ruling, stating they were "stunned and disappointed" that lawmakers effectively receive absolute immunity even for statements alleged to be false, so long as those statements bear some connection to legislative duties.

October 2025, Suit against news outlets. Musgrave separately filed a defamation action against news outlets that, his attorneys argued, republished Mace's allegations as established fact rather than as attributed claims.

All allegations made by Rep. Mace against Brian Musgrave remain unadjudicated. No criminal charges against Musgrave have been publicly reported. The defamation suit was dismissed on procedural/immunity grounds, not on the merits of any underlying allegation.

Sources

See also