Macrons Secretly Hired Investigator To Dig Up Dirt On Candace Owens

French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron have been revealed to have hired a private investigation firm to research conservative commentator Candace Owens, according to a new report from the Financial Times. The investigation comes as the French presidential couple pursues a defamation lawsuit against Owens over repeated allegations across multiple platforms that Brigitte Macron was born male.

The cross-continental probe was conducted by New York-based firm Nardell & Co, which, according to the British business news outlet, attempted to uncover damaging information about Owens by scrutinizing her public statements and political connections. Investigators reportedly looked into whether the popular podcaster had any direct ties to Russian officials or business interests.

While the investigation failed to establish any direct Russian connections, researchers did document Owens’ online interactions with Russian political theorist Alexander Dugin. The report noted that both figures have shared each other’s content on social media platforms various times.

The 218-page lawsuit, filed in Delaware Superior Court last week, includes 22 separate counts against Owens, including defamation, false light invasion of privacy, and defamation by implication. The legal action centers on Owens’ repeated allegations across multiple platforms that Brigitte Macron was born male.

Researchers also documented her connections to other prominent conservative figures, including conservative journalist Tucker Carlson and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.

“When it comes to Brigitte Macron, abusing Emmanuel and then blaming it on Russia is an unfortunate and sinister pattern,” Owens responded to the Financial Times report.

The Macrons’ attorney Tom Clare has characterized the case as straightforward defamation, stating that Owens “both promoted and expanded on” what he called “discredited falsehoods originally presented by a self-proclaimed spiritual medium and so-called investigative journalist.”

According to court documents, Owens has promoted these claims through social media posts and an eight-part YouTube series titled “Becoming Brigitte,” which the Macrons’ legal team argues has led to significant online harassment of the first lady.

Court filings indicate the Macrons’ representatives made multiple requests for retractions before filing the lawsuit. The presidential couple said in a joint statement that legal action became “the only remaining avenue for remedy” after Owens allegedly continued to promote the claims.

Despite calls for retractions, Owens has stood firm in her position, declaring in a 2024 social media post that she would “stake my entire professional reputation on the fact that Brigitte Macron is in fact a man.”

The U.S. lawsuit follows mixed results for the Macrons in French courts addressing similar allegations. In July, a Paris appeals court overturned lower court convictions against two French women who had made comparable claims about the first lady. The appellate court ruled that defendants Amandine Roy and Natacha Rey had acted in “good faith” despite making false claims, eliminating their financial liability for damages previously awarded to the Macrons.