A Congresswoman recently made jaw-dropping claims on the House floor. Now they’ve blown up in her face.
Because a Congresswoman’s ex-aide just accused her of a wild blackmail scheme.
Nancy Mace’s Explosive Allegations and Blackmail Claims Rock South Carolina Politics
A storm of controversy has erupted around Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., as a former political consultant’s sworn deposition reveals shocking claims about the congresswoman’s tactics in a bitter dispute with her ex-fiancé. The allegations, coupled with Mace’s public accusations of abuse and nonconsensual recordings, have thrust her personal and professional life into a searing spotlight, raising questions about her motives and actions.
Wesley Donehue, a former political strategist for Mace, testified in a deposition that the congresswoman asked him to “blackmail” her ex-fiancé, Patrick Bryant, to gain ownership of two jointly owned properties. According to Donehue, Mace intended to use n*de photographs of women she found on Bryant’s phone as leverage. The deposition, obtained by local media and reviewed by reporters, adds a dramatic twist to an already contentious saga.
Mace has been vocal about her allegations against Bryant, accusing him of taking n*de photographs of her and other women without consent. In a February House floor speech, she claimed to have discovered a trove of 10,000 videos and photographic evidence implicating Bryant and three other men in physical abuse and nonconsensual recordings. She further alleged that Bryant “filmed women without their knowledge,” “filmed r*pe too,” and “stored these images for years,” even accusing him of involvement in a s*x trafficking scheme.
Bryant has fiercely denied these accusations, calling them “false and outrageous.” His legal team has pushed back, with one of the accused men filing a lawsuit against Mace over her claims. The deposition from Donehue, taken late last month by Bryant’s attorneys, paints a complex picture of Mace’s actions following her discovery of the alleged photographs.
Donehue testified that Mace never reported her findings to law enforcement before going public with her accusations. Instead, he claimed, she sought to exploit the photographs to secure the two properties. “[What] I know is that she believed and she did believe — that Patrick cheated on her and had pictures of women without their consent; and she sat on that information for well over a year, did not wanna contact authorities, and asked me to blackmail Patrick Bryant,” Donehue told the lawyers.
The consultant’s testimony suggests Mace’s motivations were not solely about seeking justice. Donehue recounted that around November 2023, Mace showed him the inappropriate photographs she had allegedly found on Bryant’s phone. She expressed fear for her safety and planned to end the relationship, yet days later, she went on a Caribbean vacation with Bryant for his birthday. “I said ‘Nancy, you can’t say you fear for your safety and you’re going to the Caribbean with him and some of his friends,’” Donehue recalled. “Then she said – I remember as clear as day – ‘I’m taking my free vacation to the Caribbean.’ And she said while she was there she was gonna try to get more information out of his phone; and I told her that she need(ed) to contact the authorities, and she asked me why.”
Donehue warned Mace of the consequences of withholding such serious allegations. “I said ‘Nancy, as your campaign consultant, if it ever comes out that you knew of women being harmed, and you didn’t do anything about it, your career is over,” he testified. “But also, it’s just the right thing to do.” Mace’s response, according to Donehue, was chilling: “And she said ‘I’m going to use this information to get my houses’.”
The relationship between Mace and Donehue also appears fraught. Donehue described Mace as a client who frequently blurred the lines between professional and personal matters. “More so than any client I’ve ever worked with, Nancy blurred the lines between personal and official. To the point that a professional relationship becomes very unprofessional very soon, very quickly,” he said. This dynamic, he noted, made him uncomfortable, particularly when Mace repeatedly asked him to intervene in her relationship with Bryant.
Donehue’s testimony partially supports Mace’s claims of physical abuse. He told lawyers he believed Mace genuinely feared for her safety, citing “a lot of conversation about us being concerned for her safety.” He also recalled seeing “fingertip-size bruises” on Mace’s forearm, which she attributed to Bryant grabbing her. “I would call them fingertip-size bruises on her forearm, about four of which — above her elbow, little bruises on her arm about right here, and said that he grabbed her,” Donehue stated.
The deposition also touches on unrelated allegations about Mace’s online activities. According to Donehue, Mace is highly tech-savvy and programs her own social media bots to attack critics. “She programs her own bots. She sets up Twitter burner accounts. This is the kind of thing she does. She sits all night on the couch and programs bots, because she’s very, very computer-savvy. She controls her own voter database, she programs a lot of her own website, she programs Facebook bots and Instagram bots and Twitter bots. It’s what she does for fun,” he said, echoing claims first reported by Wired Magazine.
Mace’s public displays have only intensified the scrutiny. Last week, during a House Oversight Subcommittee hearing on “surveillance in private spaces,” she presented a n*de still of herself, claiming it was from a video recorded by Bryant without her consent. “This naked silhouette is my naked body. I didn’t know that I had been filmed,” she said. “I didn’t give my consent. I didn’t give my permission and this particular video that Patrick Bryant recorded of me on his secret camera, he saved for over three years without my knowledge.”
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) is investigating Bryant for assault, harassment, and voyeurism, following a referral from U.S. Capitol Police on December 14, 2023. SLED has conducted multiple interviews and issued search warrants, describing the case as “complex” and noting that a “well-documented case file” will be sent to a prosecutor upon completion.
Donehue, who did not initially want to be involved in the legal proceedings, told FITSNews, a local South Carolina website, “I didn’t want to talk about these things.” He explained that he was compelled to testify after being questioned by SLED and subpoenaed by Bryant’s attorneys. “I was questioned by SLED and subpoenaed by Patrick’s attorney after refusing to give them a statement. I have told them everything I know about Patrick and Nancy’s relationship. I hope we can soon move past the soap opera drama and focus on the issues important to South Carolina’s beautiful Lowcountry,” he said.
Mace’s decision to air her allegations publicly, first in a February House floor speech and later in the subcommittee hearing, has kept the controversy alive. Her accusations have sparked legal battles, with Bryant and others denying the claims and pursuing their own recourse. The deposition’s revelations about Mace’s alleged blackmail attempt add a layer of complexity to the narrative, raising questions about her intentions.
The case’s complexity, as noted by SLED, suggests that resolution may be far off. With multiple lawyers involved and a thorough investigation underway, the full scope of the truth—whether it aligns with Mace’s accusations or Bryant’s denials—will be one to look out for as more comes out to the public.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
