Court Rules Letter by Congressman Is Not Immune to Suit
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WASHINGTON — A member of Congress may be sued for defamatory statements made in a letter to the executive branch even though he may consider the comments part of his official duties, a federal appeals court panel ruled Friday.
A dissenting opinion said the ruling denies a congressman even the immunity given to a postman.
The 2-1 ruling written by District of Columbia Circuit Court Judge James L. Buckley, a former Conservative/Republican senator from New York, ordered the lower court to rehear a case it dismissed against Rep. Don Sundquist (R-Tenn.).
The appeals court ruled that Sundquist’s comments about a Tennessee attorney in a 1985 letter to then-Atty. Gen. William French Smith were not covered by the “speech or debate” clause in the Constitution. The clause protects members of Congress from legal action against remarks made in congressional floor debate, committee work or in performing other legislative duties.
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