The Republican congressional candidate of Maryland, Kimberly Klacik, filed a lawsuit against conservative media celebrity Candace Owens for $20 million. The lawsuit alleges that Owens made defamatory remarks against Klacik in a video posted on social media in June.
In the lawsuit, Krasik claimed that she had lost the book transaction and contract with a “state-approved supplier”. She also said that because of Owens’ video, politicians cancelled fundraising activities.
On June 22, Owens posted a video on Instagram. After a former congressional candidate criticized her remarks about the black community, she made a series of unsubstantiated allegations against Krasik. In the video, she claims that Krasik’s charity is illegal and that she worked as a stripper in a club owned by her husband. Owens also claimed that an unnamed stripper at the club told her that Krasick used campaign funds to buy illegal drugs. Media sources also hinted that Klacik was involved in campaign financial irregularities. So far, Owens has not provided any evidence to support her allegations.
Klacik later posted her own video on YouTube, addressing Owens’ allegations and explaining why they were deceptive. She elaborated on what Owens considered illegal campaign expenditures, and pointed out that the Federal Election Commission had reviewed her campaign report, as they did with each candidate, and found no violations of campaign finance laws.
After one of her campaign videos went viral and widely shared on social media, Krasik attracted national attention. Former President Donald Trump also shared a video in which she walked the streets of Baltimore and discussed the substandard living conditions in the city. She was also appointed as a guest speaker at the 2020 Republican National Convention.
The dispute between the two began when Owens complained that June was designated as a federal holiday, calling it “crappy.” This approach has aroused criticism from Klacik and many others.
The lawsuit alleges that despite repeated written requests, Owens refused to delete Instagram videos, and commentators “continue to support and encourage the harassment that Krasik is experiencing.”
In her video, Owens also accused Krasick of “money laundering, tax fraud and campaign fraud.” She claimed that Klacik paid suppliers to “take money off the account books” and recruited strippers for the club owned by her husband. The suit said:
Specifically, [Owens] Affirmatively accused Ms. Krasik of tax fraud, campaign fraud, money laundering, illegal drug use, and acting as a “madam.” These allegations have no basis in fact.
The complaint also stated:
When allegations of these criminal activities were made, [Owens] Claim to have received information from someone [Ms. Klacik]’Who allegedly told [Owens] Ms. Klacik used campaign funds to buy cocaine and defrauded millions of people. These harsh and fabricated defamation allegations have no factual basis.
Jacob Frenkel, the former candidate’s lawyer, told Law and crime “A baseless assassination has no place in political dialogue,” and Owens “choose to use her huge social media platform to attack a respected Baltimore politician.”
When she posted the video, I watched Owens’ video and it was clear that she was looking for anything that might damage Klacik’s reputation. As mentioned earlier, she has not provided actual evidence to prove that Klacik engaged in any illegal activities.
In addition, the FEC’s job is to fight against candidates who abuse funds, and the fact that the same document was reviewed and it was deemed not worthy of investigation further shows that Owens’s statement is wrong. indeed, Washington postIt would have been nice to have the opportunity to beat Krasik in a hit work, but when they published their report about her, they didn’t even mention it.
However, it is worth noting that it is not 100% clear whether Owens’ remarks will be considered defamatory in court. As we all know, this type of lawsuit is difficult to win, especially when it involves public figures. However, in some cases, they may succeed. Either way, the originally trivial Twitter dispute has now become a court case. We will see how this turns out.
