Rep. Devin Nunes (R-California) has filed a lawsuit against NBCUniversal and MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, claiming they harbor “institutional hostility” towards him.
Nunes’ lawyers argue in the suit, filed in Sherman, Texas, that Maddow’s bias against their client stems from him becoming “the most prominent skeptic in Congress of Maddow’s marquee news narrative from 2017 to 2019: that the Trump campaign colluded with Russians to hack the 2016 presidential elections.”
Maddow was one of the most vocal media voices suggesting, while lacking any hard evidence, that Donald Trump colluded with Russia to somehow influence the 2016 presidential election.
Nunes specifically points to a segment on Maddow’s show on March 18 as categorically false.
In the segment, Maddow argued that Nunes had failed to turn over a package to authorities that he had received from a suspected Russian agent.
“He has refused to hand it over to the FBI which is what you should do if you get something from somebody who is sanctioned by the US as a Russian agent,” Maddow argued about the package, according to the lawsuit.
The problem, according to Nunes, is that he did turn over the package and MSNBC never called him for comment on the story. He and his lawyers claim the network and Maddow knowingly lied during the segment to fit their narrative.
The package in question was reportedly similar to ones sent to other Republicans by Ukrainian lawmaker Andrii Derkach. Nunes would not confirm what was in the package, but argued Maddow was trying to tie him to an election conspiracy which was never proved.
The congressman said Maddow’s criticism of him extended far beyond one story, as she has called for him to be stripped of his security clearances, removed from his committee positions, and she’s insinuated he has committed treason with her election claims.
This is not Nunes’ first time seeking legal recourse against the media. He has had three lawsuits tossed out by judges in the last year, against CNN, The Washington Post, and Twitter.
The Twitter suit was in regards to parody accounts of Nunes – with names like ‘Devin Nunes’ Cow’ and ‘Devin Nunes’ Mom’ – which he failed to have removed from the platform.
Nunes’ confidence in his latest suit doesn’t seem to be shaken though. He is asking a jury to determine unspecified damages he is entitled to based on “insult, pain, embarrassment, humiliation, mental suffering and injury to his reputation.”
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