Court, collusion, and Buttigieg’s breakdown

By: Lucie Peyrebrune

(Renata Muñoz)

Silver Spring, Md. -- This morning Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana was convicted of defamation and slander of presidential candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren and her campaign team. This came as a surprise to few, given Buttigieg’s lack of evidence and witnesses.

The Warren campaign’s decision to sue Buttigieg was in response to his false accusations that he had been assaulted and blackmailed by members of the Warren campaign and the Democratic Party. “Our goals are just to make sure that… our voters aren’t swayed by this vile incident,” Asha Henry, Warren’s media consultant, said. “We want to make sure that it gets all straightened out so we can get back on track with the election.”

The trial began with chaos, seeing as no one seemed to know where to go or when it was set to begin. Dana Graham, Warren’s campaign manager, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were attempting to reduce the number of journalists each publication could send to this public trial. However, once Buttigieg’s lawyer Miles Grovic stopped sitting on the witness stand, the trial was set to begin, with any journalists allowed.

The plaintiffs began with a strong opening speech, outlining the tenets of defamation, and explaining which witnesses they would call to the stand. The defense set up their case by heavily emphasizing that Buttigieg was “an honest, understanding man,” loved by all of his constituents.

The first witness that the plaintiffs called to the stand was former President Barack Obama. Obama told the court that Buttigieg had told him about his plan to fabricate a story about the Warren campaign before Buttigieg had his mental breakdown.

Obama also mentioned collusion between Buttigieg and Tim Scott’s campaign. He said that after the announcement regarding Buttigieg’s membership in the Democratic Party, Buttigieg brought he and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg into a room, and they were followed by Tim Scott campaign staffer, Avi Kedia.

“There, Mayor Buttigieg asked us to corroborate his fabrications, and to further, to try to lie to him,” said Obama. “At that point, staffer Avi Kedia was then proposing ideas on how to further fabricate, and how to help him.”

The second witness was Zuckerberg, who confirmed much of what Obama said took place the night before Buttigieg’s breakdown. He was not asked about collusion.

The plaintiffs then called Padmore Post photographer Isabelle Megosh to the stand. Megosh said that when she walked into their newsroom, Buttigieg was lying on the floor. Although she didn’t personally witness this, Megosh says that her fellow Padmore Post staffers informed her that they heard Buttigieg moaning outside their room, and dragged him into the newsroom, where he was continuously saying, “don’t hurt Chasten,” presumably referring to his husband.

Last to the stand for the plaintiff was Jacob Warren, a member of Elizabeth Warren’s campaign team. He denied Buttigieg’s claims of assault and blackmail, and said that he had attempted to talk to Buttigieg prior to the trial, but he refused to speak with him.

The defense’s first witness was Katrina Warren, an artistic photographer for the Padmore Post. She told the jury that the Padmore Post was able to persuade Buttigieg to say a few words of what had happened to cause his breakdown. The information that Buttigieg told the Post is what caused the rumors about Buttigieg’s breakdown and Warren’s campaign to first be circulated.

The highlight of the trial was undoubtedly Buttigieg’s emotional testimony, when he claimed that not only were all of his allegations against the Warren campaign true, but that the Warren campaign was also blackmailing Obama and Zuckerberg. Buttigieg said that he was wearing all black to show support for blackmail victims, and encouraged Obama and Zuckerberg to be strong like him and tell the truth about Warren’s campaign. He also said that he has been emotionally and mentally troubled for the past few days, and that he is afraid for both his own life and for the life of his husband, Chasten.

The final witness was Bob, a security guard from the office building where many news outlets are located that politicians frequent. Bob said that she watched two tall men approach Buttigieg while he was working at his desk, and that they appeared to be towering over him. She said that they verbally abused Buttigieg, and that he seemed very shaken by the experience.

Despite the touching testimonies of some of the defense’s witnesses and the confidence of Buttigieg’s lawyer Grovic going into the trial, the plaintiff’s lawyers were able to convince the jury that Buttigieg had, in fact, committed defamation and slander. This is likely due to Buttigieg’s lack of evidence for any of his claims, other than his own account.

“My lawyer colleague, Amina King, and I, are glad that justice was served, and we look forward to ensuring that damages are paid,” said Lilia Wong, a lawyer for the plaintiff.

In a case that came down to Buttigieg’s word versus the accounts of several other prominent political figures and journalists, it can hardly be said that anyone was surprised by the outcome of Jacob Warren v. Buttigieg.