It's a common intimidation tactic used by people in power when accused of wrongdoing.

Filing a lawsuit or just threatening to file can cause survivors and whistleblowers to shrink in fear.

But sometimes this tactic backfires.

Just weeks ago, a Washington court ruled against disgrace pastor

Mecon Carter, who sued his former secretary for defamation after she claimed Carter essayed

her. Not only did the court throw out Carter's lawsuit, it also ordered him to pay his former

secretary's legal fees. Similarly, last March, a federal judge dismissed all but one

count of a lawsuit brought by former Southern Baptist Convention president, Johnny Hunt. Hunt had sued

the SBC, its executive committee, and Guidepost solutions for publishing allegations in a report

that Hunt had sexually abused another pastor's wife. But the judge found

that the statements in the report were supported by the findings of Guidepost's investigation.

He also found that Hunt had failed to show falsity, actual malice, or outrageous conduct on the part

of the defendants. Yet sometimes, the accused doesn't just go after the alleged victim,

but also targets the journalist or media outlet that reported the allegation. This happened to me

in 2018 when Harvest Bible Chapel and its pastor, James McDonald, sued me prior to publication.

They also tried to slap me with a temporary restraining order to keep me

from publishing. The court threw out the restraining order, properly recognizing that it was an

attempt at prior restraint, which is unconstitutional. But Harvest and McDonald also ended up

dropping that lawsuit and paying all the legal fees for me and two other defendants.

Fortunately, the U.S. Constitution leans heavily toward protecting freedom of speech, especially

when a public figure is involved.

But that doesn't mean being the target of a lawsuit isn't terrifying.

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