Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) continued his practice of filing frivolous defamation lawsuits this week by suing the Washington Post for $250 million over a report that he told President Donald Trump about Congress being briefed about Russian election interference in 2020.
Written last month, the article contends that Nunes told Trump about then-Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire’s aides briefing the House Intelligence Committee about how vulnerable the 2020 Election is and how the Russians are up to their dirty tricks again. The Post also reported that Trump erroneously believes that House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) received a private briefing.
Nunes, of course has been known to inform Trump about committee activities, which is why he had to briefly recuse himself from the Russia investigation in 2017.
So far, the Washington Post and journalist Shane Harris stand by the story.
But Nunes, who has filed several lawsuits against critics, social media and news organizations for mocking him or telling the truth about him, has filed a lawsuit against the Post and Harris alleging that the story is false and somehow injures his already sh*tty reputation.
“Acting in concert with House Democrats, WaPo and Harris republished false statements in order to impugn Plaintiff’s reputation and undermine his relationship with the President,” the lawsuit states.
It sounds like House Democrats have a reason to file their own defamation lawsuit against Nunes for falsely accusing them of a conspiracy.
The lawsuit also goes on to whine several Twitter posts, including some that are not even by Harris or the Washington Post, but by people who are reacting to the article in accordance with their right to free speech.
Another new low: Trump ousts his acting DNI because a staffer told House Intel the truth – Russia, right now, is helping Trump steal the 2020 election. Fired for warning Congress about a threat to our democracy! Why do Republicans so hate America? https://t.co/YKSQwHb7jM
— Eugene Robinson (@Eugene_Robinson) February 21, 2020
America, this is a RED ALERT. @realDonaldTrump fired the acting Director of National Intelligence for doing his job to keep America safe and protect our election from Russian attacks. Our democracy is under attack. From without and from within. https://t.co/ePaOtbzIFI
— Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) February 21, 2020
This truly looks like TREASON in all but the narrowest possible sense. If confirmed, it’s utterly devastating. It points to an enemy of the nation sitting in the White House. This cannot stand if we are to survive as a sovereign constitutional republic. https://t.co/oWexilPnao
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) February 20, 2020
In fact, most of the tweets mentioned by the lawsuits don’t even say anything about Nunes. The report also does not say anything about Nunes telling Trump that Schiff got a briefing, only that Nunes told Trump about the committee being briefed.
So, Nunes is dragging House Democrats into the lawsuit and is getting basic details of the report wrong. And he’s not even in court yet.
Just as a federal judge recently tossed the first of his many frivolous lawsuits, this lawsuit will likely be tossed as well. Even a pair of litigators say this lawsuit should be dismissed and sanctions should be slapped against Nunes and his lawyer.
This record of litigiousness is so disgraceful & I say this from the perspective of being a litigator. I believe these lawsuits will be dismissed & the Courts will sanction Nunes & his counsel.
Devin Nunes sues Wash Post. It’s his 7th lawsuit in 12 months https://t.co/xEFBLoeWQq— Richard Signorelli (@richsignorelli) March 3, 2020
Devin Nunes’s (I think 7th?) ridiculous defamation lawsuit teaches us two things:
1. The First Amednment is awesome, and
2. There should be a federal Anti-SLAPP statute.
(Follow @DevinCow or a bunch of the others just because.) https://t.co/ft8V2T1s6i
— Patrick Jaicomo (@pjaicomo) March 3, 2020
In the end, if Nunes wants to really know who destroyed his reputation, he should look in a mirror.
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