Substack defends journalist after Pentagon health official files defamation suit

Keith Bass, serving as the Pentagon’s Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs, brought a defamation action against journalist Jeff Stein after Stein reported that Bass had been “effectively fired” by the CIA in 2021 over mishandling the agency’s Office of Medical Services and the Havana Syndrome issue. The allegation was based on anonymous sources who said CIA Director Bill Burns removed Bass because of poor management, not misconduct.

In a July hearing before a federal court in Alexandria, the judge expressed doubt that Bass’s claim satisfied the required elements of defamation and permitted him to file an amended complaint, which he failed to do, resulting in dismissal of the case. Court Watch obtained a transcript of the hearing, and Stein’s legal team is expected to file a claim for attorney fees. Substack later confirmed that its Substack Defender program, designed to support independent creators, funded Stein’s legal defense.