RALEIGH — U.S. Attorney for North Carolina’s Middle District Clifton Barrett has filed multiple motions in the case involving former Winston-Salem University staffer Bridget Sullivan’s libel lawsuit against Congressman Pat Harrigan (R-Hickory).
Sullivan sued Harrigan over an X post in which Harrigan claimed Wake Forest University told him Sullivan had been fired because of her Instagram post about the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk which read, “He had it coming.”
The filings included a notice of removal to transfer the case from a state superior court to federal court, a motion to substitute the United States as the defendant in place of Harrigan, and a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
If the U.S. Attorney’s substitution motion is granted, the complaint would be dismissed lacking subject matter jurisdiction.
Additional filings made by Barrett’s office include a support memorandum for the motion to dismiss and a similar support memorandum for the motion to substitute.
Overall, the filings argue that Harrigan’s alleged defamatory social media statements about Sullivan were made within the scope of his official duties as a member of Congress and therefore fall under the protections of the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA).
Under the FTCA, which is exclusively for monetary damages, the United States must be substituted as the defendant for such acts, and plaintiffs are required to exhaust administrative remedies by first presenting a claim to the relevant federal agency, which is something Barrett’s filings note Sullivan has not done.
“Upon substituting the United States as the defendant in this case, this Court should dismiss the Complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because Plaintiff has failed to exhaust her administrative remedies pursuant to the FTCA,” states Barrett’s support memorandum for the motion to dismiss.
Additionally, Barrett’s filings contend that the FTCA does not waive sovereign immunity for libel or slander claims, nor does it permit punitive damages. Also, the lack of exhausting administrative remedies would render Sullivan unable to seek monetary damages.
