Defendants say they wrote the article "in good faith, believing everything in it was accurate"
Versant Media GroupDefendants Versant Media Group, Carol Leonnig and Ken Dilanian, stating their theory of the case in the parties' joint case management submission, which the magistrate judge entered as an order on September 14, 2026
In the initial case management order of September 14, 2026, which records each side's brief theory of the case, the defendants (Versant Media Group, Carol Leonnig and Ken Dilanian) state that they thoroughly and responsibly reported the article and wrote it in good faith, believing everything in it was accurate. They say that as a result Wilkins will not be able to prove that any statement or implication about her was materially false.
Responding to
MS NOW reported on December 5, 2025, citing three unnamed people with knowledge of the incidents, that FBI Director Kash Patel ordered, on more than one occasion, that the security detail protecting Alexis Wilkins escort one of her friends home after what the article calls a night of partying in Nashville, and that Wilkins asked agents at least two times, including once "this spring," to drive the friend home.
“Defendants thoroughly and responsibly reported the article and wrote it in good faith, believing everything in it was accurate. As a result, Plaintiff will not be able to prove that any statement or implication about her was materially false, much less that Defendants published such a statement with knowledge of falsity or despite a high probability that it was false.”
Original text
Original text
Where this statement fits
Did FBI Director Kash Patel order the security detail protecting Alexis Wilkins to drive a friend home, as MS NOW reported?
On December 5, 2025, MS NOW reported, citing three unnamed people with knowledge, that FBI Director Kash Patel ordered the security detail protecting Alexis Wilkins to escort a friend of hers home after what the article calls a night of partying in Nashville, on more than one occasion. FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson told MS NOW "This is made up and did not happen." Wilkins sued Versant Media Group, which does business as MS NOW, and two reporters for defamation on May 29, 2026, and her complaint says the events did not occur and that she did not have a security detail at the time. MS NOW's president says the network stands behind its reporting. As of October 5, 2026, we found no court ruling on whether the report was accurate or on the defendants' motion to dismiss or transfer (the CourtListener copy of the docket was last updated September 15, 2026), and we did not find a named witness who says on the record that the reported events occurred.
Source and context
Original text
About this source
The order sets the schedule: initial disclosures by October 15, 2026, written discovery requests by December 1, 2026, and fact discovery by June 4, 2027. It records each side's brief theory of the case in the parties' own words and lists no issues as resolved. Discovery is not stayed during pending motions unless the court orders otherwise.
Original text
About this source
The public docket of the case as mirrored by CourtListener, which says its listings may not be current. As of October 5, 2026, its newest entry is dated September 15, 2026 and it lists no ruling on the defendants' motion to dismiss or transfer. The page does not include the exhibits to the defendants' motion, such as the declaration of a Versant officer.
Before the quotation
The defendants had moved on August 11 to dismiss or transfer the case, and Wilkins had opposed on August 25. The same section of the order records Wilkins's theory that the statements about her were knowingly or recklessly false. The text appears in an order entered September 14 that records a joint proposed order filed September 3, 2026 (Doc. 32), which we did not read.
After the quotation
The order sets initial disclosures for October 15, 2026 and lists no issues as resolved. A September 15 order sets a jury trial for May 16, 2028. As of October 5, 2026, the CourtListener copy of the docket, last updated September 15, 2026, lists no ruling on the motion to dismiss or transfer.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the proposition that, on at least one occasion, FBI Director Kash Patel ordered the FBI agents assigned to protect Alexis Wilkins to escort or drive a friend of hers home, as MS NOW reported on December 5, 2025. The defendants say they believed everything in the article was accurate and that Wilkins cannot prove material falsity, an endorsement of the article's accuracy, so we used Condemned, which here records an attributed endorsement and no judgment on anyone. The statement speaks to what they believed and to what Wilkins can prove, not to the incident directly. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional, because the same filing party argues elsewhere that the article is not defamatory even if the request was not made. It loses because this passage states a belief and a prediction without an express condition; the conditional argument is recorded as a separate statement.
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More from this case
Read the full caseDefendants argue that reporting Wilkins's request is not defamatory "even if she did not actually make the request"
Versant Media Group
“It simply reports she asked FBI agents to drive her friend home so the friend would arrive safely – a statement that would not hold a person up to hatred and ridicule in society. … Reporting on her request to the FBI, even if she did not actually make the request, is simply not the kind of thing that would subject Wilkins to “hatred, contempt, or ridicule.””Read statement
MS NOW President Rebecca Kutler says the network stands "firmly behind" its reporting
“We stand firmly behind MS NOW’s reporting. As a general matter of practice, we don’t comment on ongoing legal matters.”Read statement
Wilkins's complaint says Patel never ordered any agent to escort her friends home
“This is entirely false. Director Patel has never ordered any FBI agent or member of Ms. Wilkins’ security detail to escort any of Ms. Wilkins’ friends home—inebriated or otherwise—nor did Ms. Wilkins ask any of them to do so. … No FBI agents have ever escorted any of Ms. Wilkins’ friends home. … Notably, Ms. Wilkins did not have a security detail at that time.”Read statement
Cite this record
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- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Defendants say they wrote the article "in good faith, believing everything in it was accurate"
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- https://disputeindex.com/events/4652-in-the-initial-case-management-order-of-september
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Defendants say they wrote the article "in good faith, believing everything in it was accurate"". First published: 2026-10-05. Last updated: 2026-10-05. https://disputeindex.com/events/4652-in-the-initial-case-management-order-of-september