Breaks Down Legal Claims in Lawsuit; Vows to Take First Amendment Fight to Supreme Court
Former FBI agent Jamie Mannina has filed a lawsuit against James O’Keefe and the O’Keefe Media Group (OMG), alleging defamation and other claims stemming from a secretly recorded conversation in which Mannina is heard discussing efforts to “protect people from Trump.”
The lawsuit, which includes counts such as defamation by implication, false light portrayal, conspiracy, and even wiretapping, targets the media group’s decision to publish video and audio recordings of Mannina’s statements. In one of the recordings, Mannina is quoted as saying, “I’ve been in conversation with a couple of retired generals to explore what we can do,” referring to efforts related to former President Donald Trump.
Mannina is represented by attorney Mark Zaid, a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer known for national security cases, including his own lawsuit against the Trump administration over the revocation of his security clearance.
“This is an attack against the First Amendment,” O’Keefe said, adding that his team is prepared to litigate the case through the appeals process and all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if needed.
“They’re arguing that we made a defamation by implication,” said O’Keefe, “but we just quoted this man and reported the words that came out of his mouth.”
One of the more unusual counts in the suit alleges unlawful wiretapping, an accusation O’Keefe called “crazy” given the law in the District. “Washington, D.C. is a one-party consent jurisdiction,” O’Keefe noted. “There’s nothing unlawful about recording someone that you’re talking to.”
“The process is the punishment,” O’Keefe said, adding that lawsuits of this nature are often intended to deter independent journalism by creating financial and legal strain.
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