Former Mississippi governor sues news site over welfare fraud comments
Former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant is suing a local news organization, claiming it defamed him in public comments on the misspending of $77 million of federal welfare funds intended to help some of the poorest people in the U.S. The lawsuit comes just...
JACKSON, Miss. — Former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant is suing a local news organization, claiming it defamed him in public comments on the misspending of $77 million of federal welfare funds intended to help some of the poorest people in the U.S.
The lawsuit comes just over two months after Mississippi Today and one of its reporters, Anna Wolfe, won a Pulitzer Prize for her coverage of the welfare misspending. Bryant's attorney filed a complaint Wednesday in the Circuit Court of Madison County against the outlet's CEO, Mary Margaret White, and Deep South Today, the outlet's nonprofit owner.
The lawsuit, which does not appear to challenge the veracity of Mississippi Today's findings about the welfare scandal, claims White and other employees made “slanderous” or unfounded comments about Bryant when discussing the outlet's reporting in several public settings.
“Governor Bryant believes he has been libeled by Mississippi Today,” wrote Denton Gibbes, a Bryant spokesperson, in an email. “He is confident in the suit he has brought and, through his attorneys, will convince 12 residents of Madison County of just that.”
Henry Laird, an attorney representing Mississippi Today, said he was still reviewing the lawsuit Thursday afternoon.
At the center of the lawsuit is a 2022 “impact report” published by the news site, a 2023 appearance at a national media conference by White and a Pulitzer Prize award announcement. In each of those instances, the outlet misrepresented Bryant’s
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