RICHMOND, VIRGINIA—A Richmond judge denied two motions against the Democrat Party of Virginia and Gov. Abigail Spanberger Monday in a defamation case, and the plaintiff told the Daily Signal that he plans to appeal the decisions. “I will be appealing these decisions,” Thomas Speciale, a retired Army intelligence officer and former Republican U.S. Senate candidate, told the Daily Signal outside the courtroom of the Richmond City Circuit Court. Speciale, a retired Army intelligence officer and former Republican U.S. Senate candidate, sued the Democrat Party of Virginia for allegedly defaming him. The party issued a press release on Nov. 3, 2022, claiming that Speciale “attacked the U.S. Capitol” on Jan. 6, 2021, and suggesting that he “bloodied and beat law enforcement officers.” Speciale, who vehemently contests both claims, sued in 2023, and in the course of discovery, he found that then-U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger’s 2022 reelection campaign had drafted the press release. “The press release defames me, stating that I was a ‘notable insurrectionist who attacked the United States Capitol’ and that I ‘bloodied and beat law enforcement,’” Speciale previously told the Daily Signal. “The truth is the exact opposite—I was warning the government of possible violence at the National Counterterrorism Center and the FBI, and I was there trying to stop potential violence on January 6th.” Speciale claims that the Democrat Party has stonewalled the discovery process, the process by which parties in a lawsuit obtain documents from one another to prove their cases. “This continued practice of hindrance to discovery in this case is evidence that Spanberger is involved in defamation,” Speciale told Judge Richard Campbell in court Monday. As you can see here on this archived version, the press release claimed Speciale "attacked the US Capitol" on Jan. 6 and suggested he "bloodied and beat law enforcement officers."Speciale contests both claims, and says this press release defamed him.3/20 pic.twitter.com/TRmsU4LBq2— Tyler O'Neil (@Tyler2ONeil) September 15, 2025 The Spanberger Connection Speciale sought to depose Spanberger herself, but the Democrat Party’s lawyers presented a sworn affidavit from Spanberger saying she had no knowledge of the press release. Judge Campbell later agreed to allow Speciale to depose her via written questions. Speciale claims that Spanberger responded to his questions in writing in June 2025, but the Democrat Party’s lawyers are refusing to hand over the responses unless he agrees that they be kept under seal. Neither the Democrat Party’s legal team nor the office of the attorney general responded to the Daily Signal’s requests for comment on the claim that Spanberger already wrote her answers to Speciale’s questions. After the judge agreed to let Speciale depose Spanberger in writing, the Democrat Party hired Don Scott, speaker of the House of Delegates, to the legal team. After hiring Scott, the party then moved to suspend the case under Virginia Code Section 30-5 until the end of the Legislature’s special session. Virginia Code Section 30-5 creates a buffer to allow lawyers who are serving in the Legislature to pause their legal work in order to focus on the legislative session, but Speciale condemned the party’s hiring of Scott as an “improper” attempt to “delay the proceedings” and “obstruct justice.” Judge Dismisses Motions Speciale asked the judge to sanction the Democrat Party or its attorneys for abusing Section 30-5 to delay the case. He also asked the judge to compel the Democrat Party to hand over the written statements from Spanberger’s deposition. Judge Campbell rejected both motions. The judge said Section 30-5 is “sacrosanct,” and he would not question the Democrat Party’s use of it. As for the motion to compel Spanberger’s deposition, a lawyer representing the state attorney general’s office argued that it would set a dangerous precedent. “No court has ever previously compelled a sitting governor to sit for deposition,” Michael Shebelskie, a partner at Hunton Andrews Kurth who represented the attorney general’s office, said in court. “The record shows that Governor Spanberger has no knowledge that would be relevant to this case.” Shebelskie cited Virginia Code Section 8.01-407, which states that “no subpoena shall, without permission of the court first obtained, issue for the attendance of the governor…” The law aims to protect governors and other high-ranking officials, in order to enable them to carry out their public duties. Speciale countered the argument, citing Clinton v. Jones (1997), a case in which the Supreme Court denied then-President Bill Clinton’s attempt to delay Paula Jones’ sexual harassment lawsuit regarding Clinton’s alleged actions as governor before he became president. Yet Judge Campbell rejected Speciale’s motion, citing precedent in Richmond Circuit Court. Speciale argued that the case isn’t about him, but about the Democrats’ hyperbolic rhetoric demonizing political opponents. “This isn’t about me,” he said. “It’s about what they do to people like me.” Although Speciale says he will appeal the rulings, these motions are currently incidental to the case, which seeks to hold the Democrat Party of Virginia and former officials at Spanberger’s 2022 campaign accountable for alleged defamation. The denial of these motions does not weaken the overall case.