NBCUniversal has settled a defamation lawsuit with Dr. Mahendra Amin after falsely accusing him of performing unauthorized medical procedures on detained illegal immigrants. The case, which had been set for trial in April, revealed that NBC’s reporters and executives knowingly promoted a false narrative.
The controversy began in 2020 when NBC published a story based on accusations from former nurse Dawn Wooten, who claimed female detainees at a Georgia ICE facility were subjected to hysterectomies without consent. NBC reporters Julia Ainsley, Jacob Soboroff and Danielle Silva wrote the original report, which was later echoed by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, Nicolle Wallace and Chris Hayes.
NBC Universal has agreed to settle a $30m defamation lawsuit after its MSNBC talent lied and said a Georgia doctor was performing Mengele-style “mass hysterectomies” at an ICE facility during the first Trump administration.@chrislhayes, Rachel @maddow, Nicole Wallace, and… pic.twitter.com/zLLNcfmUHU
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) February 22, 2025
A Senate subcommittee later found no evidence to support the claims, confirming that Amin had only performed two hysterectomies over a two-year period, both of which were deemed medically necessary and approved by ICE. The report also noted that both patients had signed informed consent forms before the procedures.
NBC Settles $30M Defamation Lawsuit After Fake News About Doctor At ICE Facilities https://t.co/gIPZoALLB2
— ConservativeLibrarian (@ConserLibrarian) February 24, 2025
Court documents revealed that NBCUniversal had internal doubts about the story before publication. Chris Scholl, a senior executive, expressed concern that Wooten had no direct evidence to support her claims. One NBC reporter even acknowledged that ICE data “would negate her claims.” Despite this, NBC moved forward with the story, spreading the false allegations across its platforms.
Judge Lisa Godbet Wood ruled that NBC had made 39 “verifiably false” statements about Amin, with enough evidence to suggest the network acted with “actual malice.” This ruling set the stage for a jury trial that NBC ultimately avoided by settling out of court.
While the financial details of the settlement remain confidential, the case raises further questions about the network’s credibility and journalistic ethics.
