Representative Devin Nunes sues Twitter for $ 250 million

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) Sues Twitter and three of its users for $ 250 million in damages, alleging that he's been defamed and that heavyweight social media is engaged in "l & # 39; prohibition of conservative opinions and selectively applies its own conditions of service to the benefit of the Republican party's opponents.

Nunes also claims in the 40-page trial, dated Monday and sent to the Henrico County Virginia Federal Court, that Twitter was seeking to influence his run for reelection in 2018 and to hinder his investigation of the presidential election campaign. Hillary Clinton and Russian participation in the 2016 election campaign. Nunes oversaw this investigation as chairman of the Chamber of Deputies Intelligence Committee – a role he held until the official resumption by House Democrats in January.

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Fox News on Monday published a copy of the complaint on its website. It was unclear whether the prosecution had actually been brought because the copy did not have a file number. Nunes' lawyer could not be reached for comment Monday night.

Among the defendants are a Twitter user claiming to be the congressman's mother, a Twitter user running an account called "Devin Nunes Cow" and GOP communications strategist Liz Mair.

The lawsuit refers to various critical messages from Nunes posted on the accounts of the accused, as well as to other accounts – including "Fire Devin Nunes" and "Devin Nunes & Grapes" – "whose sole purpose was to publish and republish (tweet and retweet) false and defamatory statements about Nunes, "says the lawsuit.

"The substance and timing of tweets, retweets, responses and criticism from Mair, Devin Nunes 'mother, and Devin Nunes' cow demonstrate that the three bad actors have been and are engaged in a joint effort, jointly and with others, to defame Nunes and interfere in his duties in Congress, said Nunes' lawyer in the lawsuit.

"The full scope of the plot, including the names of all participants and the level of involvement of donors and members of the Democratic Party, is unknown to date and will be the subject of a discovery. in this action, "says the complaint.

Nunes, Monday night, warned that his litigation "is the first in a string of pending lawsuits," arguing that "the rights of the First Amendment are at stake" because of Twitter's actions.

"They spread this fake information and this slanderous information," Nunes told host Sean Hannity, in an interview with Fox News, accusing Twitter of "proliferating, with the algorithms, with which they were d & # 39; agreement, "he said.

"How is it possible that I can be attacked relentlessly, hundreds of times a day by fake accounts that they say should not be there?" Said Nunes. "So I guarantee you that if I published something that was sexually explicit or personally attacked someone, they would stop it. They would say that it's a sensitive tweet. They never did that to people who came after me or to other Conservatives. "

A close ally of the president, Nunes has been the target of criticism over the last two years for his close relations with the White House while overseeing the House's investigation into electoral interference in Russia, which Democrats blame him for politicizing. wrongly.

Republicans have long been furious at what they consider Twitter's standard twofold standard for controlling site content. In September, lawmakers called the company's chief executive, Jack Dorsey, to Capitol Hill, where he denied in two high-stakes hearings that his department was repressing conservative voices.