December 3, 2019 

Devin Nunes

Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., an advocate for President Trump and a critic of what is commonly known as the "fake news" media, has filed a defamation suit against CNN for $435 million.

The complaint calls the network "the mother of fake news."

"It is the least trusted name. CNN is eroding the fabric of America, proselytizing, sowing distrust and disharmony. It must be held accountable."

Nunes, the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, is responding to a network story that claimed he met with a fired Ukrainian prosecutor "in an effort to dig up dirt on Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden."

TRENDING:Ex-Clinton employee Ronan Farrow says Hillary changed as Weinstein scandal threatened her money

The Washington Examiner reportedthe headline was "Giuliani associate willing to tell Congress Nunes met with ex-Ukrainian official to get dirt on Biden."

CNN used the words of Joseph Bondy, a lawyer for Lev Parnas, who worked closely with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani to pursue Ukrainian efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election as well as allegations of corruption in Ukraine involving Biden's son Hunter.

CNN claimed Bondy said Parnas was "willing to tell Congress" that in December 2018, Nunes traveled to Vienna to meet with Viktor Shokin, the top Ukrainian prosecutor who was fired in 2016 under pressure from the United States. Joe Biden, then the vice president, is on video boasting he threatened the withholding of $1 billion in aid if Ukraine's president didn't fire Shokin.

CNN cited congressional travel records showing Nunes and a few aides traveled to Europe between Nov. 30 and Dec. 3, 2018.

CNN's claim: "Mr. Parnas learned from former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Victor Shokin that Nunes had met with Shokin in Vienna last December."

According to the lawsuit: "Nunes did travel between Nov. 30 and Dec. 3. The lawsuit says that on those dates, Nunes was in Libya and Malta. Nunes traveled to Libya to 'discuss security issues with General Khalifa Haftar,' the suit says. In Malta, Nunes 'met with U.S. and Maltese officials, including Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, and participated in a repatriation ceremony for the remains of an American World War II soldier missing in action."

But the legal filing states Nunes "was not in Vienna in December 2018 .Further, he has never met Shokin; never spoken to Shokin; and never communicated with Shokin."

The complaint states Parnas was "a renowned liar, a fraudster, a hustler, an opportunist with delusions of grandeur" and CNN should have known he was untrustworthy.

During its presentations of the story, CNN largely left out attributions for the statements, simply presenting the statements as fact, the report said.

The Examiner said: "It is extremely hard for a public figure like Nunes to prevail in a defamation suit against a media organization. The standard Nunes must meet is exceedingly high. But a lawsuit can also be a way of making a public statement, in this case about coverage of a high-profile, controversial issue. In this new suit, Nunes does just that."

Fox News reportedthe 47-page document was filed in federal court in Virginia.

The court case charges, "The ulterior purpose of the CNN article is to advance the impeachment inquiry, to seed doubt in the minds of Americans, and to influence the outcome of the 2020 election."

https://www.wnd.com/2019/12/nunes-sues-mother-fake-news-cnn-hundreds-millions-dollars/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=wnd-newsletter&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=newsletter