The Mississippi Supreme Court will not grant Mississippi Today’s request for an appeal after a lower court ordered the newsroom to turn over documents that could identify confidential sources to the court as part of former Gov. Phil Bryant’s defamation lawsuit against the publication.
The former Mississippi governor first filed the lawsuit against MT’s parent company, Deep South Today, in 2023, alleging that the online news publication and its CEO defamed him by claiming he “embezzled,” “squandered” and “steered” $77 million in welfare funds “to benefit his family and friends, including NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre.” Investigators have not accused Favre or Bryant of crimes in any of the ongoing welfare scandal cases.
Bryant’s lawsuit expanded earlier this year to include reporting by Anna Wolfe, a Mississippi Today reporter who won a Pulitzer Prize for local reporting on the welfare scandal. On May 20, 2024, a Madison County judge ordered the publication to turn over documents that could reveal Wolfe’s confidential sources to the judge, prompting the appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court.
After Bryant first threatened a lawsuit in 2023, Mississippi Today CEO Mary Margaret White apologized for claiming he embezzled welfare funds, saying she misspoke, but the publication has not retracted any of its reporting.
“We believe this court order is unconstitutional, so we have no choice but to appeal it to the Mississippi Supreme Court,” Mississippi Today’s Editor-in-Chief Adam Ganucheau said in June. “With our appeal, the stakes are incredibly high: The Supreme Court could guarantee these critical rights for the first time in our state’s history, or it could establish a dangerous precedent for Mississippi journalists and the public at large by tossing aside an essential First Amendment protection.”
But on Thursday, Dec. 6, a 6-2 majority on the state’s high court ruled against Deep South Today and also rejected a motion from the former governor.
“After due consideration, the Court finds that Deep South’s Petition for Interlocutory Appeal should be denied. The Court further finds that the Bryants’ Motion for Damages for Frivolous Appeal should be denied,” the ruling said.
“Governor Bryant is pleased with the Court’s decision,” his attorney Billy Quin said in a statement to the Mississippi Free Press. “The media, both legitimate news sources and propaganda outlets masquerading as legitimate media, is not above the law. Gov. Bryant looks forward to resuming the prosecution of his claims in the circuit court.”
