A federal judge today ruled that Devin Nunes, the former California congressman now running Donald Trump's Truth Social app, cannot revive his failed libel lawsuit against CNN. The channel reported that Nunes was involved in Trump's efforts to dig up "dirt" on his political enemies. Nunes claimed this was libelous, but a lower court found that under California law Nunes had to request a retraction first.
CNN lawyers said in court papers that Nunes in a "rush to sue" overlooked the need to first request a retraction.
Two 2nd Circuit judges agreed Thursday that California law governed Nunes' claims and that he "undisputedly failed to comply with that statute." Circuit Judge Steven J. Menashi wrote in a dissent that California law should not be relied upon because Nunes didn't suffer the greatest reputational injury there.
In court papers, lawyers for Nunes said CNN knew the statements made by Lev Parnas, and included in their report, were false.
Things are reportedly not going so well at Trump Social, still struggling to onboard new users after its botched launch and abandonment by Trump himself. In a recent interview Nunes seemed all but delusional about its current status.
