Republican candidate slaps Candace Owens with $20m defamation lawsuit over pundit's Instagram video that alleged Maryland politician was a 'madame' at a strip club, illegally used drugs, laundered money and committed campaign fraud
A former Republican candidate for a congressional seat in Maryland is suing conservative pundit Candace Owens for $20million, accusing her of defamation stemming from an Instagram video that purported to paint her as a cocaine-snorting, money-laundering strip club 'madame.'
The defamation lawsuit was filed on behalf of Kimberly Klacik in Baltimore County Circuit Court in late July.
According to the court documents, as a result of Owens' 44-minute tirade, Klacik lost a book deal and a contract with a 'nationally recognized vendor,' and had politicians cancel fundraising appearances with her.
Kimberly Klacik (left), a rising star in the GOP, is suing right-wing pundit Candace Owens (right) for $20million in damages, claiming defamation
According to previous reporting, Owens and Klacik have been locked in a months-long feud and have been trading barbs on social media, with Owens slamming her rival as a 'fake' person.
The two hardline conservatives first clashed over a tweet from Owens, criticizing President Joe Biden for designating Juneteenth as a national holiday.
'Sometimes I wonder when (if ever) Black America will wake up to the psychological warfare and perpetual brainwash to believe everything is racist,' Owens tweeted.
Klacik replied; 'believe it or not, many in "Black America" are very aware the fight is about classism rather [than] racism. Unfortunately, the loudest mouths with the largest platforms represent the majority. This might come to a shock to you because of your lack of engagement with black people.'
Klacik received a full-throated endorsement from Donald Trump during her failed run for a congressional seat in Maryland last years. Pictured: Klacik with Trump and Rudy Giuliani
The war of words took a more serious turn on June 22, when Owens claimed in an Instagram video that Klacik's charitable organization, Potential Me, was illegitimate, and that she committed fraud by misusing campaign funds from her failed run for Congress last year, according to the complaint cited by The Baltimore Sun.
In her June 22 video, Owens alleged that Klacik was a 'madame' and was involved in campaign and tax fraud, and other potentially criminal activity
Owens did not stop there, also alleging in the video, which has been viewed more than 1.6million times and was still up on her Instagram page as of Tuesday, that Klacik was recruiting strippers for her husband's club in the Baltimore area.
In the video, Owens claims that she heard from one of the dancers at the club that Klacik and her husband had 'scammed people of million' and 'used campaign money to do cocaine in the strip club.'
Owens stressed that she was 'not an investigative journalist' and could not independently confirm those claims, which she said the stripper had brought to her in writing.
The frequent Fox News contributor and staunch Donald Trump supporter, who has 3.9million followers on Instagram, further accused Klacik of money laundering and tax fraud, which are serious federal offenses.
Klacik, who on Facebook describes herself as a 'journalist,' has vehemently and repeatedly denied Owens' allegations against her.
Owens is a staunch supporter of Donald Trump and a regular Fox News contributor
'Baseless character assassination has no place in political dialogue‚' Klacik’s attorney, Jacob Frenkel, said in a statement. 'The defendant chose to use her huge social media platform to attack a respected Baltimore political figure; we are using the proper forum — the power of the courts — to respond. The detail in Ms. Klacik’s lawsuit speaks for itself.'
According to the complaint, Owens has disregarded Klacik's multiple letters, informing her that the claims in her video were false.
DailyMail.com on Tuesday reached out to Owens' seeking comment on the lawsuit.
Klacik, 38, is married to 54-year-old strip club manager and accountant Jeffrey Klacik.
In 2020, Klacik, described as a rising GOP star, ran for the Maryland 7th District seat left vacant by the late Rep. Elijah Cummings, but was defeated by Rep. Kweisi Mfume, a Democrat.
She appeared in a viral campaign ad, titled ‘Black Lives Don’t Matter To Democrats’, that showed abandoned homes and neighborhoods overrun by poverty and crime in the Democrat-run city.
Klaacik caused a stir in conservative circles by appearing in this campaign ad in 2020
In the clip, Klacik claimed to walk the ‘real Baltimore’ to show the ‘reality for black people’ in the historic town. She also took aim at the city’s Democratic leaders who she said had let Baltimore descend into 'abandoned homes, poverty and crime'.
The ad earned full-throated praise from then-President Donald Trump, who urged his supporters in Maryland to vote for her, writing in a tweet that she had his 'Complete & Total Endorsement!'
Klacik later made an appearance at the Republican National Convention, in which she claimed that Democrats take the black vote for granted and said she believes Joe Biden believes black people ‘can’t think for ourselves’.
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