I’ve wondered about that a lot. Can you just say “We Will Not Respond Because You Have No Jurisdiction”? Mann didn’t live in DC. Neither did Steyn. There should’ve been a way to refuse to comply.
It seems a question of where “the crime” was committed.
As Justice Alito is quoted in the article:
“And when, as is often the case, allegedly defamatory speech is disseminated nationally, a plaintiff may be able to bring suit in whichever jurisdiction seems likely to have the highest percentage of jurors who are sympathetic to the plaintiff ‘s point of view.”