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Culture February 25,2025 | Independence Journal Editorial Team

NBC Settles Defamation Suit Over False Claims Against ICE Doctor

NBCUniversal has reached a settlement in a $30 million defamation lawsuit after falsely reporting that a Georgia doctor performed unnecessary hysterectomies on illegal immigrants detained at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility. The network’s high-profile hosts and reporters pushed the allegations despite internal concerns about their accuracy.

The lawsuit stemmed from a 2020 NBC report based on claims by former nurse and whistleblower Dawn Wooten. NBC reporters Julia Ainsley, Jacob Soboroff and Danielle Silva published a story identifying Dr. Mahendra Amin as a so-called “uterus collector,” alleging that he performed unauthorized and excessive hysterectomies on detained women. MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow, Nicolle Wallace and Chris Hayes further amplified the accusations, claiming Amin carried out “mass hysterectomies” on ICE detainees.

 

However, a Senate subcommittee investigation later debunked the allegations, revealing that Amin had only performed two hysterectomies on detainees between 2017 and 2019. Both procedures were determined to be medically necessary and were approved by ICE. Additionally, both patients signed informed consent forms, contradicting the network’s reporting.

 

Amin filed the defamation lawsuit against NBCUniversal in 2021, denying all accusations. During the legal process, internal NBC communications showed that reporters and executives were aware of inconsistencies in Wooten’s claims before publishing the story. Senior deputy head of Standards at NBCUniversal Chris Scholl initially hesitated to approve the report, noting in an email that Wooten “provides no evidence to back up her claims” and lacked direct knowledge of the allegations.

One NBC reporter even admitted that ICE data “would negate” Wooten’s claims. Despite this, the network proceeded with the story, fueling widespread media coverage that falsely painted Amin as a serial abuser.

Judge Lisa Godbet Wood, overseeing the case, ruled that NBC had made 39 “verifiably false” statements about Amin. She also found that the network’s decision to publish despite evidence undermining the claims could meet the legal standard for “actual malice.”

While the exact terms of the settlement remain undisclosed, the case was originally set for a jury trial in Georgia this April.

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