Judge Lets Rasner Defamation Case against Ex-Senator Bouchard Move Forward

A Wyoming judge has rejected former state Sen. Anthony Bouchard’s attempt to toss out a defamation lawsuit filed against him by businessman and former US Senate candidate Reid Rasner, clearing the way for the case to move into full discovery, Gillette News Record reports.

The order, filed Nov. 25 by Johnson County District Court Judge Benjamin Kirven sitting in Laramie County, is a significant procedural setback for Bouchard and a win for Rasner, who says he was falsely accused of sexual misconduct.

In his ruling, Kirven found that Rasner has laid out valid claims for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and harmful interference with business, enough to keep the lawsuit alive.

Bouchard had asked the court to dismiss the case outright or end it early in his favor. His legal team argued that Rasner hadn’t stated a proper claim under Wyoming law and that many of the statements at issue were too old, and therefore barred by the state’s one-year statute of limitations on defamation.

The judge disagreed.

Kirven ruled that Wyoming law recognizes “hidden defamation” — situations where a person doesn’t immediately know they’ve been defamed — and that the one-year clock starts when the alleged victim discovers the false statements, not necessarily when they’re first posted.

Rasner says Bouchard began posting the accusations online around May 2024, but that he didn’t learn about them until August, when his mother alerted him.

The court also acknowledged how serious the statements were. Bouchard had claimed Rasner had a “student sexual abuse record,” a charge Judge Kirven said could reasonably be viewed as damaging to Rasner’s reputation, business prospects and emotional well-being.

At a Nov. 12 motions hearing, Rasner’s attorney, Bill Fix, underscored just how severe these accusations are — especially for a high-profile businessman. Rasner is the founder and CEO of Omnivest and was pursuing a bid to purchase TikTok at the time.

Fix told the court that accusing his client of sexual misconduct amounted to defamation per se — a legal category for statements so serious they’re presumed to harm someone’s reputation.

“He’s calling him a pedophile in the age of Epstein. What could be worse than that?” Fix said. “Say somebody’s a murderer. That’s not as bad as calling somebody a pedophile in this day and age.”

A key piece of the judge’s decision appears to be evidence that undercut the factual basis for Bouchard’s claims.

Bouchard has said his accusations were based on what he heard from former state Sen. Austin Jennings, R-Casper, about an alleged incident involving Rasner at Casper College around 2010.

But an affidavit from Casper College President Brandon Kosine tells a different story.

Kosine said the college searched its records and “has no records at all concerning any reports of sexual misconduct by Mr. Rasner.” He added that the school also could not locate any complaint matching what Jennings claimed he filed in 2010.

Fix argued that the Casper College records show “absolutely no support for anything that Mr. Bouchard or Mr. Jennings now allege.”

Bouchard’s attorney, Stephen Klein, tried another angle to get the case dismissed, arguing that Rasner is a public figure and therefore must show “actual malice” — that Bouchard either knew the statements were false or seriously doubted they were true when he made them.

Klein claimed Bouchard’s reliance on a “trusted friend” like Jennings makes it hard to prove that level of malice.

The judge, however, still found Rasner’s claims strong enough to survive this early stage, meaning those questions will now be explored more fully during discovery.

With the motion to dismiss denied, the lawsuit now moves into full discovery. That’s the phase where both sides exchange documents, messages and other evidence, and take depositions in preparation for a possible trial.

According to a press release, Rasner’s legal team plans to issue subpoenas for records, communications and testimony from Bouchard and others.

“From day one, I made it clear that these accusations were false, malicious, and completely fabricated. The Court has now backed that position and confirmed that this case moves forward,” Rasner said in the statement. “Every single person who pushed this lie will be held fully accountable. We are watching them closely. Some are still spreading the same nonsense even today, and they will face the exact same legal consequences.”

Rasner also alleges that Bouchard deliberately fueled the attacks to damage both his business reputation and his political ambitions as he campaigned against US Sen. John Barrasso in the Republican primary.

Bouchard did not respond to a request for comment before publication.