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Sweetwater County lawmakers take the Wyoming Freedom PAC to court for defamation

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George Hodan
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Last year, Cody Wylie (R-Rock Springs) and J.T. Larson (R-Rock Springs) both ran for re-election to the Wyoming State House in Sweetwater County. In July, the Wyoming Freedom PAC, which is affiliated with the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, sent out mailers and texts to voters urging them to vote against Wylie and Larson during the Wyoming Primary Election.

Now, Wylie and Larson are suing the PAC for defamation, according to documents obtained by WyoFile. The lawmakers allege that the mailers and texts falsely claimed they had voted to remove Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot. Some of the PAC's mailers and texts also featured a well-known picture of Donald Trump taken immediately after the July 13 assassination attempt in Butler, Pa. The lawmakers argue the inclusion of the picture was an attempt to associate them with enemies of Trump.

The Wyoming Freedom PAC defends its claims by referencing a vote on a Wyoming budget amendment. The vote in question was on a proposal to remove a restriction in the Wyoming budget which would have allowed the Secretary of State to use appropriated funds for litigation outside of Wyoming, even where Wyoming was not a named party. On this amendment, Wylie voted in conflict and Larson voted no, which the PAC argues was helping efforts to remove Trump from the ballot.

That’s because if it had passed, the Secretary of State could have potentially supported Trump in his fight against being removed from the ballot in Colorado. The Colorado Supreme Court eventually ruled that Trump was disqualified from holding office because he was guilty of insurrection, but was later overruled by the U.S. Supreme Court which unanimously said he could stay on the ballot.

The plaintiffs assert that the PAC's claims based on this vote were misleading and amounted to defamation.

"The U.S. provides robust protections for free speech under the First Amendment, but they don’t extend to false statements. In order to further the goals of our democracy, we have to recognize that at some point, lies do not get the protection of freedom of speech," said Wyoming-based lawyer Tamara K. Crolla, who is not involved in the case.

However, proving falsehood alone is not enough when it comes to public figures. In 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court established a landmark precedent for defamation cases involving public figures in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan. The ruling held that for public officials to succeed in a defamation suit, they must prove “actual malice,” meaning that the false statement was made with knowledge of its falsity or with reckless disregard for the truth. Crolla said this means if you make an incorrect statement that you believe is right, it is not defamation.

"People say things that are wrong all the time. And they might even try and hurt your reputation by saying that wrong thing,” she said. “But if they believe it's true, even if it’s a public figure, it’s not defamation."

According to the non-profit Harvard Business Review, 90% of all lawsuits are settled out of court. One of the main reasons for this is that settling out of court avoids the high costs of lengthy legal battles. But according to Crolla, a settlement may be less likely in this suit, given that clearing one's name is often a top priority for plaintiffs in a defamation suit.

"What people care about is having their name cleared, and without a judgment,” Crolla said. “A lot of times people don't really feel like they've gotten that."

The first hearing of the trial is on Jan. 31 in Green River.

Corwin Schlump is a political science senior at the University of Wyoming. He grew up in the Midwest, traveled up and down the East Coast of the USA, and has lived in Laramie for the last 10 years. Corwin has always enjoyed news and politics and has participated in study abroad programs in Palestine and Israel. Outside of work, he enjoys playing board games and tennis.

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