absolute privilege

The photo depicts a white man with glasses and brown hair counting on his fingers while looking outside of the camera's view to the upper lefthand corner of the image. He is wearing a dark-colored suit, blue dress shirt, and red tie.

Defamation and democracy: N.C. Supreme Court agrees to hear case over false claims of voter fraud

By Maydha Devarajan
September 1, 2023 - In 2016, political operatives working for Gov. Pat McCrory falsely accused voters across North Carolina of fraud. A defamation lawsuit brought by the wrongfully-accused voters is now being reviewed by the state Supreme Court to see if it will go to trial, and the court’s ruling could have implications for whether political figures are held accountable for making unfounded claims of voter fraud.

Libel case over North Carolina voter fraud lies moves forward

By Sue Sturgis
October 15, 2021 - The N.C. Court of Appeals recently rejected a request from the Pat McCrory Committee Defense Fund and the law firm Holtzman Vogel to throw out a libel suit filed against them for falsely accusing voters of committing fraud in the 2016 election. After the former Republican governor narrowly lost to Democrat Roy Cooper that year, McCrory's campaign and its legal agents worked to sow doubt about the election's integrity — a strategy taken to new levels by Donald Trump following his 2020 loss to Joe Biden.