Rep. Nancy Mace of Sout Carolina’s 1st District speaks during a hearing with the House Oversight and Accountability committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on April 11, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (File photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Attorneys for one of the men accused by U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace of being a sexual predator have issued a “demand for action,” giving the congresswoman 10 days to produce evidence or publicly apologize for what they call “outrageous” allegations.
In a letter sent to Mace on Thursday, attorneys for Brian Musgrave outlined three possible scenarios: Provide evidence that he was involved in the alleged crimes, retract the allegations against him and publicly apologize, or prepare to be sued.
“You upended Brian’s life when you accused him falsely of being a rapist, a predator, and a sex trafficker,” wrote attorneys Eric Bland and Ronald Richter Jr. in a letter provided to news outlets late Thursday.
“He is none of those things,” the letter continued, calling him a “loving husband” to his wife of 22 years and “loving father” to his two children.
“The damage you have inflected upon Brian and his family is immense,” they wrote.
Mace’s spokeswoman declined Friday morning to directly respond to the letter. Instead, she referred the Gazette to what Mace said from the House floor regarding Musgrave.
Mace seemed to address the allegations herself through a post on X late Thursday: “Witness intimidation is real, and it is illegal. Hold the line,” she wrote without being specific.
In a nearly hour-long, bombshell speech on the U.S. House floor Feb. 10, Mace accused Musgrave, Patrick Bryant (her ex-fiancé), and two other men of sexually assaulting women and girls and secretly recording the abuse. She was among the victims, Mace said.
All four vehemently denied the allegations immediately following her speech.
Mace accuses 4 men, including ex-fiancé, of being sexual ‘predators.’ SLED is investigating.
The letter from Musgrave marks the first threat of a lawsuit from an attorney.
Speeches from the U.S. House floor are protected by the “speech or debate” clause of the U.S. Constitution, which shields members of Congress from lawsuits for what is said in either chamber.
Musgrave’s attorneys questioned whether her speech — which had nothing to do with pending legislation — is actually covered by that clause, and they’re willing to go to court to test it.
“You may view the floor of Congress as a sanctuary for slander. We do not,” the letter reads.
It noted that when Musgrave disputed the allegations to reporters, Mace blasted back Feb. 11 on social media. They included a line saying he “must have missed the part of my speech” when she said she documented evidence with metadata.
Produce the metadata that links Musgrave to the alleged crimes, “and we will cease our pursuit of this matter,” the attorneys wrote.
After Mace’s speech, the State Law Enforcement Division confirmed that Bryant is being investigated for assault, harassment and voyeurism. The investigation began in December 2023 after SLED was contacted by U.S. Capitol Police, SLED said in a statement Feb. 10.
Mace and Bryant broke up in late 2023, which would be after Mace said she found evidence on his cellphone.
Bryant has repeatedly denied the allegations and pledged to cooperate fully to clear his name.
Another man accused by Mace as being a predator told The Post and Courier he was recently interviewed by SLED and told he was not a subject of the investigation.
He responded Friday morning to news of the letter from Musgrave’s attorney: “Only 9 days left to retract and apologize,” wrote Eric Bowman of Sullivans Island.
A SLED spokeswoman said Friday there’s nothing new to report. The “investigation is active and ongoing,” her statement read.
Musgrave’s connection to the Isle of Palms condo where Mace said she was sexually assaulted while unconscious after being drugged is that he’s a partial owner. It’s an investment and place for family vacations where Bryant, described as a “lifelong friend,” periodically lived as a paid tenant, according to the letter.
“We are struck by your conviction that something inappropriate happened to you (and perhaps to others),” it reads, before listing a string of things he denies doing: “He did not rape you. He did not drug you. He did not film you. … He did not assist anyone in perpetrating any crimes against you.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.