The fate of a lawsuit filed against the parent company of news organization Mississippi Today (MT) and several staff members is currently being decided by justices of the state Supreme Court.
Former Governor Phil Bryant, and his wife Deborah Bryant filed a lawsuit against Deep South Today, Senior Director of Development and Partnerships Mary Margaret White, Jackson Editor and journalist Anna Wolfe and Deep South Today’s Executive Editor Adam Ganucheau.
Shamira Muhammad
State supreme court to decide future of lawsuit against Mississippi Today
In 2022, Mississippi Today published a series of investigative stories from Wolfe called “The Backchannel” that detailed the state’s sprawling $77 million welfare scandal. Although the reporting repeatedly established that Gov. Bryant had not been formally accused of any crimes, the lawsuit rests on comments made by White and language from an impact report.
“This case involves the state's largest newsroom repeatedly accusing a former two-term Republican governor of committing multiple felonies while in office,” the Bryant's attorney William Quin told justices last week.
The suit was initially dismissed by the Madison County Circuit Court.
Speaking to MPB News after the arguments, Quin said texts presented in Wolfe’s reporting, and subsequent public comments from C.E.O. Mary Margaret White, crossed the line into defamation.
“We remain confident Governor Bryant was defamed,” he said. “He was defamed repeatedly over the course of many years and we have no doubt whatsoever that that defamation was intentional. They should be called to account for it. Mississippi Today loves to speak about accountability. Well, that is what this is for.”
In 2023, Senior Director White made public comments during a conference panel referring to Bryant as a former governor that had embezzled millions alongside his “cronies.”
The Bryants were never charged with a crime. White later issued an apology, saying she misspoke.
Mississippi Today's lead attorney Lee Crain argues the lower court correctly dismissed the case, recognizing press protections in the state constitution. However, Chief Justice Michael Randolph pushed him on who would be an “ultimate finder of fact” for this lawsuit.
“The statutes that control this case talk about a jury,” Chief Justice Randolph said.
“I believe that's correct, Your Honor, yes,” Crain said.
“Any disputed fact a jury is called upon to decide,” Chief Justice said.
Crain went on to reference two decisions, including Bryant v. Rosenberg, in which the court granted a motion to dismiss with prejudice.
“Judge Johnson says throughout the decision that Governor Bryant's admissions in that case negate actual malice, they negate it,” Crain told the justices.
Crain told MPB News that he and his clients filed a motion to dismiss with the lower court.
“We were grateful for the circuit court’s ruling,” he said. What we argued was Mississippi is special in certain regards because its constitution actually says that the right of a free press is sacred.”
Critics have argued the lawsuit could have a chilling effect on watchdog journalism in the state, which Bryant attorney Quin refutes. He said the lawsuit holds journalists to a higher standard.
“I think that all you, instead of worrying about the chilling effect on journalism, should be worrying about the other thing,” he said. “What's the chilling effect if we don't win? What has it done in the long term to your career? I would tell you, substantial damage.”