In a nearly hour-long speech on the House floor, Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina is raising allegations against a former fiancé and his business associates.
Mace accused her ex-fiancé of physically abusing her and recording sex acts with her and others without their consent and saying she has evidence of him conspiring with business associates in acts of rape and sexual misconduct.
The former fiancé, categorically denied all the allegations. Mace said she was speaking out because South Carolina's top prosecutor didn’t take action. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson's office called Mace's comments about the prosecutor’s conduct “categorically false.”
AG Wilson's spokesman in a statement said "Congresswoman Mace and the Attorney General have been at multiple events together over the last six months. She also has the Attorney General’s personal cellphone number. Not once has she approached or reached out to him regarding any of her concerns."
SLED has confirmed to the media that they opened an investigation into the allegations in December of 2023 after being contacted by US Capitol Police. A SLED spokesperson said this an active and on-going investigation that is complex and involves multiple lawyers. Once the investigation is completed, it would be sent to a prosecutor for review.
Her decision to air the allegations in a floor speech was unusual. In a release, Mace stressed that members’ statements on the House floor “are quintessential ‘legislative acts’” and thereby protected by the “speech or debate” clause, which generally protects lawmakers from being sued for what they say.