On Wednesday, a federal judge dismissed a defamation lawsuit against Representative Nancy Mace (R-S.C.). The lawsuit was filed after she accused a man of being a predator during a speech on the House floor.

U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel decided that even if the lawsuit were to continue, federal law allows the Justice Department to intervene, granting Mace substantial immunity from damages.

Judge Gergel did not make a determination on whether Mace had defamed Brian Musgrave. He acknowledged that the ruling might prevent Musgrave from seeking compensation, even if his reputation was wrongly tarnished, as he alleges.

“Congress has weighed the risks and benefits … and concluded that libel and related claims against federal officials acting within the scope of their duties are prohibited under federal law. It is this Court’s duty to uphold the rule of law,” the judge stated.

Gergel was nominated to the bench by former President Obama. 

Musgrave sued Mace in March after she gave a stunning speech on the House floor that included a series of allegations of sexual abuse and voyeurism. 

Mace, who is now running for governor of South Carolina, celebrated the ruling. 

In a statement, Mace said, “Today, the court affirmed that the US Constitution is the LAW OF THE LAND. They targeted me because I advocated for victims and insisted on prosecuting crimes. Today’s court ruling shows that their falsehoods and attacks won’t defeat me. I have risked my career to combat crime and have developed legislation to strengthen our laws. I will continue fighting for law and order.”

Musgrave was one of four men Mace named in a dramatic House floor speech in February, where she accused them of sexual misconduct and voyeurism. Along with Musgrave, Mace also accused her ex-fiancé and two other men of inappropriate actions.

Eric Bland, Musgrave’s attorney, said the decision allows politicians to “say and do anything they want” but vowed to “keep fighting” to clear his client’s name. 

“It seems patently unfair that a United States citizen who lives a law-abiding life can be grouped and called a rapist and a predator without any proof, and it can be done over and over again with immunity (and impunity),” Bland said in a statement. 

Mace in the speech claimed to have found a hidden camera on a property that Musgrave owns with Mace’s ex-fiancé that had intimate photos of women taken without their knowledge or consent. Musgrave’s suit said he didn’t place the camera and never had knowledge of it.

While he was not the subject of Mace’s more serious allegations in the speech, such as her belief she was raped after being “purposefully incapacitated,” Mace labeled Musgrave along with the three other men as a “predator.”

The lawsuit took aim at the speech, Mace’s social media posts and a poster displayed outside her congressional office titled “PREDATORS” with images of the four men. The case also included claims against some of Mace’s congressional staff. 

Last month, the Justice Department sought to step in and largely replace Mace and the staffers as the defendant by certifying they were acting in the scope of their jobs, making them immune and leaving taxpayers on the hook for damages. 

Gergel, the judge, agreed that the government could do so on all but one claim: that Mace owes Musgrave damages for violating his constitutional rights, known as a Bivens action.

But the judge went on to dismiss that claim, too, finding it isn’t permitted in defamation cases and that Mace was protected anyway by the U.S. Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause. 

Mace has made her accusations against the men a central part of her political identity in recent months.

In a May subcommittee hearing she led on private spaces, she showed a blurry screenshot of what her “naked silhouette” that she said was recorded on a hidden camera on the property that was mentioned in her speech.

She launched a bid for governor of South Carolina this month. Among her primary opponents is South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson (R), who she accused of not adequately investigating her allegations. Wilson’s office at the time said that Mace “either does not understand or is purposefully mischaracterizing” Wilson’s role.