Congressman Joe Wilson is fiercely defending his son, the South Carolina attorney general, Alan Wilson, after Congresswoman Nancy Mace accused that the younger Mr. Wilson of slow-walking investigations into sexual abuse in their state.

The elder Mr. Wilson tells The New York Sun that he and Ms. Mace are no longer on speaking terms. Ms. Mace took to the floor of the House on Monday night to accuse four men of sexual abuse, and said that her state’s attorney general failed to take action when she brought those complaints to him. 

“In your system, attorney general Alan Wilson, women who come forward are threatened with investigations like I was. In your system, women who come forward are threatened with arrest, like I was. While the law’s explicit in protecting victims, in your system, you don’t follow the law,” Ms. Mace said on the House floor. “I waited 320 days before receiving a victim’s rights advocate, and only because I was persistent.” 

The elder Mr. Wilson, however, tells the Sun that Ms. Mace’s comments are “slanderous” and untrue. He alleged that Ms. Mace only made the accusations because both his son and Ms. Mace herself are planning to run for South Carolina governor in 2026, and Ms. Mace wants to smear the attorney general. 

“It was a campaign speech, yes, but I think somehow she had been advised that she could make slanderous comments on the floor that would then preclude her from being sued for slander,” Mr. Wilson told the Sun at the Capitol on Tuesday. “Hey, it’s a race for governor. She’s running against my son.”

“She won’t speak with me, which is fine,” he added. 

Mr. Wilson further defended his son, pointing to his record as a prosecutor. “He’s got a great record of opposing violence against women, human trafficking,” he said. “She’s got her positions and I’m grateful that my son … will make a great governor.”

Ms. Mace’s spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The younger Mr. Wilson’s office also says that Ms. Mace’s allegations are “categorically false.”

“Ms. Mace either does not understand or is purposefully mischaracterizing the role of the Attorney General. At this time, our office has not received any reports or requests for assistance from any law enforcement or prosecution agencies regarding these matters. Additionally, the Attorney General and members of his office have had no role and no knowledge of these allegations until her public statements,” the attorney general’s office said shortly after Ms. Mace delivered her speech on Monday night. 

“Congresswoman Mace and the Attorney General have been at multiple events together over the last six months. She also has the Attorney General’s personal cellphone number. Not once has she approached or reached out to him regarding any of her concerns,” the office added. 

Ms. Mace said in her floor speech that four men — including her former fiancé — drugged and raped her and other women, and filmed the attacks. 

“You’ve booked yourself a one-way ticket to hell,” she said on the House floor. “It is nonstop. There are no connections. So I and all of your victims can watch you rot into eternity.”

In her nearly hour-long speech, Ms. Mace accused her ex-fiancé, Patrick Bryant, and three of his business associates — Eric Bowman, John Osborne, and Brian Musgrave. In a statement first made to NBC News, all four men denied the congresswoman’s allegations.