The reason for the appeal was an article about Russia’s alleged attempts to interfere in U.S. election processes
The District of Columbia Court on Thursday dismissed the suit filed by Devin Nunez (D-California), Senior Republican on the Intelligence Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, against The Washington Post newspaper, because of the article about Russia’s alleged attempts to interfere in the U.S. election process. This is evidenced by a document posted in the institute’s database.
Nunez filed a defamation lawsuit in March over a publication by The Washington Post that alleged he had told US President Donald Trump about the contents of a closed briefing to members of the lower house intelligence special committee that took place on February 13. At the briefing, according to US media reports, Shelby Pearson, a member of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, blatantly highlighted attempts by Russia to interfere in the US election process to allegedly re-elect Trump.
The New York Times later reported that Trump, upon learning of the briefing on 14 February, “scolded” acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire, who resigned in late February. The White House later denied reports of the president’s claims against Maguire, and also called the rumors of Russian attempts to promote Trump’s re-election as U.S. president absurd.
Nunez, for his part, denied that he had such a conversation with Trump and informed him of the contents of the closed briefing. This led to him filing a defamation suit against The Washington Post. However, the court agreed with the paper’s lawyers’ position that the plaintiff had failed to prove malice in the newspaper’s publication, established on the facts of the case. The judge therefore ruled that the suit should be dismissed.