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Numerous Trump media figures and pols are mounting ruinous libel and defamation suits
RentFreeHat RetweetedThis is a major and still ignored story. Numerous Trump media figures and pols are mounting ruinous libel and defamation suits that are ridiculous on their face as to the law but meant to impose a shattering price in legal fees for any kind of aggressive coverage or satire.
Link to tweet
This contains a lot of funny stuff. But what it actually is is a politician attempting to abuse the judicial process in order to scare people out of criticizing him by proving that he can cost them a lot in legal fees.
Link to tweet
So anyway, this is happening.
Link to tweet
Morning Mix
‘This was an orchestrated effort’: Devin Nunes sues Twitter, ‘Devin Nunes’ cow’ for defamation
By Allyson Chiu
March 19 at 12:03 AM
There’s a cow on Twitter. But it isn’t just any cow — it claims to belong to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.). ... “Hanging out on the dairy in Iowa looking for the lil’ treasonous cowpoke,” reads the bio of the account “Devin Nunes’ cow,” which, as of early Tuesday, had nearly 45,000 followers. ... The opinionated bovine appears to not be the biggest fan of its owner. “Devin’s boots are full of manure,” it once tweeted. “He’s udder-ly worthless and it’s pasture time to mooove him to prison.”
On Monday, Nunes said he is suing the cow account, other individual users and Twitter for defamation and negligence, alleging that the social media platform “knowingly acted as a vessel for opposition research” and censors conservative voices. The lawsuit — the latest one accusing a social media site of anti-conservative bias — drew criticism Monday as many, including legal experts, questioned its motivations and wondered if it could be a “publicity stunt.” ... As of late Monday, the suit was not listed in Virginia state court records, where Fox News reported it had been filed.
The complaint alleges that Twitter “intended to generate and proliferate false and defamatory statements” about Nunes to influence the midterm elections; tried to “intimidate” the congressman, who is currently the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee; and sought to “interfere with his important investigation of corruption by the Clinton campaign and alleged Russian involvement in the 2016 Presidential Election,” according to a copy of the suit obtained by Fox News. Nunes is seeking $250 million in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages. ... “This was an orchestrated effort,” Nunes said during an interview with Fox’s Sean Hannity on Monday. “People were targeting me.”
....
Recent lawsuits similar to Nunes’s have not seen much success in courts as there are laws in place that protect social media platforms and First Amendment rights, Jim Bickerton, an attorney with Bickerton Law Group in Honolulu, told The Washington Post. ... “The case is not really well thought through,” Bickerton, who has practiced libel law for nearly 40 years, said of Nunes’s suit. He noted that Nunes, a public official and public figure, will have to overcome the “actual malice” standard set by New York Times Co. v. Sullivan in 1964. Actual malice is defined as “a statement made with a reckless disregard for truth,” and requires the person making the statement to have a “high degree of awareness” that it is false.
....
Reis Thebault contributed to this report.
Allyson Chiu is a reporter with The Washington Post's Morning Mix team. She has previously contributed to the South China Morning Post and the Pacific Daily News. Follow https://twitter.com/_allysonchiu
‘This was an orchestrated effort’: Devin Nunes sues Twitter, ‘Devin Nunes’ cow’ for defamation
By Allyson Chiu
March 19 at 12:03 AM
There’s a cow on Twitter. But it isn’t just any cow — it claims to belong to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.). ... “Hanging out on the dairy in Iowa looking for the lil’ treasonous cowpoke,” reads the bio of the account “Devin Nunes’ cow,” which, as of early Tuesday, had nearly 45,000 followers. ... The opinionated bovine appears to not be the biggest fan of its owner. “Devin’s boots are full of manure,” it once tweeted. “He’s udder-ly worthless and it’s pasture time to mooove him to prison.”
On Monday, Nunes said he is suing the cow account, other individual users and Twitter for defamation and negligence, alleging that the social media platform “knowingly acted as a vessel for opposition research” and censors conservative voices. The lawsuit — the latest one accusing a social media site of anti-conservative bias — drew criticism Monday as many, including legal experts, questioned its motivations and wondered if it could be a “publicity stunt.” ... As of late Monday, the suit was not listed in Virginia state court records, where Fox News reported it had been filed.
The complaint alleges that Twitter “intended to generate and proliferate false and defamatory statements” about Nunes to influence the midterm elections; tried to “intimidate” the congressman, who is currently the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee; and sought to “interfere with his important investigation of corruption by the Clinton campaign and alleged Russian involvement in the 2016 Presidential Election,” according to a copy of the suit obtained by Fox News. Nunes is seeking $250 million in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages. ... “This was an orchestrated effort,” Nunes said during an interview with Fox’s Sean Hannity on Monday. “People were targeting me.”
....
Recent lawsuits similar to Nunes’s have not seen much success in courts as there are laws in place that protect social media platforms and First Amendment rights, Jim Bickerton, an attorney with Bickerton Law Group in Honolulu, told The Washington Post. ... “The case is not really well thought through,” Bickerton, who has practiced libel law for nearly 40 years, said of Nunes’s suit. He noted that Nunes, a public official and public figure, will have to overcome the “actual malice” standard set by New York Times Co. v. Sullivan in 1964. Actual malice is defined as “a statement made with a reckless disregard for truth,” and requires the person making the statement to have a “high degree of awareness” that it is false.
....
Reis Thebault contributed to this report.
Allyson Chiu is a reporter with The Washington Post's Morning Mix team. She has previously contributed to the South China Morning Post and the Pacific Daily News. Follow https://twitter.com/_allysonchiu
19 replies
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It's like a law of nature or something.
