MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes are set to take the witness stand in a defamation lawsuit that marks the latest legal challenge for the left-leaning network. Media attention has shifted from CNN, following its loss in a landmark defamation case, to MSNBC, where Maddow and Hayes face scrutiny over their reporting in the so-called “uterus collector” lawsuit.
The case involves allegations that the network falsely accused a Georgia doctor of performing unnecessary hysterectomies on undocumented immigrants in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. A jury trial is set to commence on April 22nd in Waycross, Georgia. Both anchors are anticipated to be questioned about “verifiably false” claims made during a segment that aired on September 15th, 2020.
Dr. Mahendra Amin, the subject of MSNBC’s reports, has filed the defamation lawsuit, claiming that the network’s coverage damaged her reputation as an obstetrician-gynecologist. Dr. Amin provided care for women in ICE custody at the Irwin County Detention Center earlier that year. The controversy began when a whistleblower alerted NBC, which produced an initial report that reportedly faced skepticism from the network’s standards department. Despite this, MSNBC proceeded with the story, branding Amin as the “uterus collector.”
No account from the whistleblower has been verified, Amin’s lawyers say in a filing. MSNBC portrayed their client as “an abusive, unethical, and dishonest physician who treated and operated on immigrant women in an abusive fashion, without consent, and motivated by profit instead of quality healthcare.” U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood of the Southern District of Georgia, a George W. Bush appointee who is also currently serving a seven-year stint on the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, previously ruled that a jury could reasonably determine MSNBC acted with actual malice, allowing the lawsuit to proceed to trial.
“NBC investigated the whistleblower letter’s accusations; that investigation did not corroborate the accusations and even undermined some; NBC republished the letter’s accusations anyway,” Wood wrote last year in a 108-page summary. In total, 23 “false and defamatory” statements about Amin were made on “Deadline: White House,” which is hosted by Nicolle Wallace, “All in with Chris Hayes” and “The Rachel Maddow Show.”
Maddow, Hayes, and Wallace are among those expected to testify. Other likely witnesses include NBC News reporters Jacob Soboroff and Julia Ainsley, MSNBC producer Denis Horgan, senior director of standards and practices Mary Lockhart, deputy head of standards Chris Scholl, and others, according to Fox News. Earlier this month, CNN lost a defamation lawsuit filed by Navy veteran Zachary Young and his company, Nemex Enterprises Inc.
In a segment aired on “The Lead with Jake Tapper” on November 11, 2021, and subsequently republished across various platforms, CNN reporter Alex Marquardt accused Young of operating in a “black market” and exploiting desperate Afghans by charging “exorbitant fees.” Young contends that these accusations were not only false but also depicted him as an illegal profiteer, unfairly damaging his reputation and undermining his efforts.
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