Republican Rep. Devin Nunes sues The Washington Post and one of its reporters for defamation - 2020-03-04
Republican Rep. Devin Nunes sues The Washington Post and one of its reporters for defamation March 4, 2020,
Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., has filed a defamation lawsuit against The Washington Post and journalist Shane Harris, continuing a trend of litigation against a free press.
The suit accuses the outlet of fabricating a report that Nunes told President Donald Trump about an intelligence briefing about Russia and the 2020 election for members of Congress. Nunes claims that he did not meet or speak with Trump on either the day of the briefing or the day after it happened. The congressman also denies numerous other details from the story, including that his alleged actions caused the president to turn against former acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire.
The lawsuit, which was filed Monday, is notable for its overtly partisan language. Nunes' lawyers write that "billionaire, Jeff Bezos ('Bezos'), purchased WaPo in 2013 for the purpose of using WaPo's mighty pen to influence Federal elections" but that it "failed to defeat the GOP in 2016, in spite of WaPo's notoriously libelous reporting."