Congressman Nunes alleges CNN, Daily Beast ‘committed crimes’ in reporting, says will sue

California Congressman Devin Nunes said that he plans to sue CNN and The Daily Beast for defamation during an interview on Fox News on Nov. 24, 2019.

Host Maria Bartiromo asked the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee whether he had met with former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Victor Shokin in Austria in 2018, as had been reported by CNN and Daily Beast over the weekend.

Nunes did not answer the question, and instead dismissed the articles as “fake news” and alleged that it is “very likely” that the outlets committed crimes while reporting the story. He also said he intends to take the outlets to federal court after Thanksgiving, arguing that it’s the only way to hold the "corrupt" media accountable.

"So we hope that CNN and Daily Beast will cooperate with the court," Nunes said. "They should comply with the subpoenas once we file this and go through different depositions. It should be fun."

A spokesperson from Daily Beast told The Hill that they “stand by our reporting and are happy to defend it.” The Hill said CNN declined to comment.

The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker will document any resulting subpoenas under our Subpoena/Legal Order category.

Nunes has pursued libel suits against the media before. In April, he targeted The McClatchy Company, which owns The Fresno Bee, in a $150 million defamation lawsuit, arguing that its reporting on the congressman constituted “character assassination.” According to The Hill, Nunes also has an ongoing $75 million lawsuit against journalist Ryan Lizza and Hearst Magazines filed in October.