Devin Nunes: Lawbreaker Or Innocent?

Devin Nunes, a former California congressman and CEO of Trump Media & Technology Group, has been accused of destroying evidence in a defamation lawsuit against The Washington Post. The Post has asked the judge to sanction Nunes for missing or destroyed information, claiming that Nunes deprived them of communication records and other documents. Nunes has denied these allegations, stating that he has followed court orders and met his obligations to share information. He has also filed other defamation lawsuits against media outlets and institutions, including CNN, the Post, Esquire magazine, and Twitter.

Devin Nunes' lawsuit against the Washington Post

Devin Nunes, a former California congressman and close ally of Donald Trump, filed a defamation lawsuit against The Washington Post in 2021. The lawsuit was in response to a November 2020 report by reporter Ellen Nakashima, which linked Nunes to baseless claims that the Barack Obama administration wiretapped Trump Tower.

Nunes claimed that the article falsely attributed to him a claim from Trump that the Obama administration had spied on Trump Tower in New York. After the lawsuit was filed, the Washington Post issued a correction, stating that it had "inaccurately" attributed the claim to Nunes and that "Nunes has stated that he did not believe there had been any wiretapping of Trump Tower."

However, the corrected article still asserted that Nunes believed "intelligence files" would "buttress Trump's baseless claims" about spying at Trump Tower. Nunes took issue with this correction and filed an amended complaint. The case was then transferred to the District of Columbia.

The Washington Post requested summary judgment in an effort to close the case, arguing that it did not act with "actual malice" in publishing the initial report. "Actual malice" is a legal standard that requires the plaintiff to prove that the defendant wrote an article intending to harm their reputation. This standard is particularly challenging to meet for public figures like Nunes.

During a hearing, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, expressed doubt that Nunes could prove that Nakashima and the Post acted with actual malice. The judge suggested that the only way to reach the actual malice standard would be if the corrected article included a statement that "everyone in the world" would agree is false.

Nunes' lawsuit against the Washington Post is one of several defamation lawsuits he has filed in recent years, including against CNN, Twitter, MSNBC parent NBCUniversal, and the publisher of Esquire magazine.

Nunes' evidence-sharing obligations

Devin Nunes, a former California US congressman and CEO of Trump Media & Technology Group, filed a defamation lawsuit against the Washington Post in 2020. The lawsuit was regarding a news report about the selection of the National Security Agency's general counsel. The Post had corrected the article to say that it had "inaccurately" attributed to Nunes a claim that the Obama administration had spied on Trump Tower in New York. The correction also noted that "Nunes has stated that he did not believe there had been any wiretapping of Trump Tower."

Nunes' lawyers argued that he had met his evidence-sharing obligations in the litigation. They stated that Nunes had followed court orders and met his obligations to share information as part of his lawsuit against the news media outlet. However, the Post's attorneys claimed that Nunes never produced a single substantive internal communication and deprived them of communication records and other documents that could have supported their defense. They asked the judge to sanction Nunes by telling jurors that missing records "would have contained evidence unfavorable" to Nunes' defamation claims.

Nunes countered these claims, stating that there was "no evidence of an intent to deprive" and that the destruction of documents was a "routine" practice for departing members of the US House of Representatives. His lawyers pointed out that the Post's lawyers had not identified any specific relevant and non-privileged records that Nunes had allegedly withheld or deleted.

The case is still ongoing, and the judge has not yet ruled on the merits of the lawsuit. Nunes' lawyer expressed confidence in their position, stating that they expect to successfully dispute the motion and ultimately prevail before a jury at trial.

Nunes' resignation from Congress

Devin Nunes resigned from Congress in 2022 to become the CEO of former President Donald Trump's social media company, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG). Nunes had served in Congress for 10 terms and was in line to chair the powerful Ways and Means Committee if the Republicans took control of the House in the 2022 midterm elections.

Nunes's resignation letter was read aloud on the House floor during a pro forma session on Monday, December 7, 2021, and took effect at 11:59 pm that day. In his letter, Nunes wrote that it had been "the honour of my life to represent the people of California's San Joaquin Valley for the last 19 years."

Nunes's decision to leave Congress was influenced by California's redistricting process, which could have made his reelection prospects more difficult. An initial proposed map had shifted his district from a fairly safe Republican-leaning area to one where Democrats may have had the advantage.

Nunes's resignation triggered a special election to fill his vacant seat, and the timing meant that the election would take place under the existing boundaries of California's 22nd Congressional District. This gave Republicans a significant advantage, and the result was expected to be an indicator of the country's mood ahead of the 2022 midterms.

Nunes's departure from Congress was met with a range of reactions on social media, with some celebrating his exit and others mocking his former occupation as a dairy farmer.

Nunes' subpoena to unmask Devin Nunes' Cow

Devin Nunes, a former California congressman and CEO of Trump Media & Technology Group, has been involved in several lawsuits, including one against the Twitter account "Devin Nunes' Cow." In 2019, Nunes filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against Twitter, Elizabeth "Liz" Mair, Mair Strategies LLC, and the Twitter accounts "Devin Nunes' Mom" and "Devin Nunes' Cow." The lawsuit claimed that the defendants had made false and defamatory statements about him.

The ACLU and Public Citizen intervened, arguing that Nunes' subpoena to unmask Devin Nunes' Cow violated the First Amendment right to anonymous speech. They asserted that the statements made by the anonymous Twitter account were protected opinion and political rhetoric, and therefore not defamatory. Additionally, Nunes had not provided any evidence to prove that the statements were false. The ACLU highlighted the importance of pseudonyms in American history, allowing individuals to criticize public officials without fear of retaliation.

Nunes' lawsuit against Devin Nunes' Cow gained widespread attention, with the popularity of the Twitter account soaring and gaining more followers than Nunes' own account. This lawsuit is one of several filed by Nunes, many of which have been dismissed or voluntarily dropped.

Nunes' appointment to the President's Intelligence Advisory Board

Devin Nunes, a former member of Congress and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, was appointed by President-elect Donald Trump to head an independent advisory board on espionage policy. The appointment was made on December 14, 2024, and Nunes will lead the President's Intelligence Advisory Board while retaining his position as CEO of Trump's social media company, Truth Social.

The President's Intelligence Advisory Board, established during the early Cold War, consists of private citizens with top-level security clearances who assist the White House in evaluating spy agency effectiveness and planning. Members are not required to undergo Senate confirmation, allowing the president to select them at their discretion.

In a statement, Trump commended Nunes for his counterinvestigation into the Trump-Russia inquiry during his tenure as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Trump expressed confidence that Nunes would provide him with "independent assessments" of the U.S. Intelligence Community's activities, drawing on his experience and role in exposing the alleged Russia hoax.

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