From Law & Crime · · 4m
Appeals court doesn't bite at Devin Nunes' invitation to 'disregard' Supreme Court so he can sue Rachel Maddow
Appeals court rejects Devin Nunes' attempt to disregard Supreme Court precedent in defamation lawsuit against Rachel Maddow.
In brief
Appeals court rejects Devin Nunes' attempt to disregard Supreme Court precedent in defamation lawsuit against Rachel Maddow. 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds district court's dismissal of Devin Nunes' defamation claim against Rachel Maddow, ruling New York state law requires the 'actual malice' standard for…
Appeals court decision
A federal appellate panel had no interest in disregarding what it deemed 'binding' U.S. Supreme Court precedent, leading to another loss for former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes in his defamation lawsuit against NBCUniversal…
Supreme Court precedent
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' summary order reveals that the onetime Trump Media & Technology Group CEO and Republican lawmaker failed to show the lower court erred in granting NBCUniversal summary judgment.
First Amendment ruling
As a preliminary matter, this Court has no authority to disregard the Supreme Court's binding interpretation of the First Amendment, and the Supreme Court has squarely held that the actual malice standard governs in this…
New York state law
During oral arguments, U.S. Circuit Judge William J. Nardini and Senior U.S. Circuit Judge Guido Calabresi both repeatedly pointed out that Nunes could not win because New York state had codified the 'actual malice' standard…
Judge Calabresi's comment
93-year-old Senior U.S. Circuit Judge Guido Calabresi, appointed by Bill Clinton in 1994, chimed in via Zoom, telling the lawyer that the most you are doing is trying to get us to say that we…
Nardini's follow-up
You would agree, even if the Supreme Court overturned New York Times v.Sullivan, it could not have an impact on the outcome of this case, correct?
Court's final ruling
The court made that same point when affirming Nunes' loss, stating that Nunes provided no evidence at the summary judgment stage that provided any basis for a reasonable inference that Maddow or Gnazzo should have…
Defamation claim basis
Ultimately, the panel saw 'no error in the district court's conclusion' that Maddow and her executive producer Cory Gnazzo's reliance on a Politico article as a source for their broadcast 'cannot support a finding of…
Nunes' lawsuit origin
During a March 18, 2021, broadcast of 'The Rachel Maddow Show' on the cable news network formerly known as MSNBC, the host raised questions about a package Nunes had allegedly received from suspected Russian operative…
Derkach's background
Derkach was described as a suspected 'Russian agent' involved in an attempt to discredit former special counsel Robert Mueller, and Nunes was still serving as a prominent lawmaker when he sued.
District court ruling
By August 2025, the district judge found in a summary judgment order that Nunes was 'unable to show, through clear and convincing evidence, that defendant either had actual knowledge of the falsity of the statement…
District court reasoning
[N]o reasonable fact finder could find by clear and convincing evidence that Maddow and Gnazzo made the statement with a 'high degree of awareness of … probable falsity', the judge said.
Summary judgment
The 2nd Circuit agreed that Nunes 'provided no evidence at the summary judgment stage that provided any basis for a reasonable inference that Maddow or Gnazzo should have regarded the Politico article as unreliable'.
Nunes' legal argument
Nunes asks us to disregard New York Times to 'allow the states to fashion their own libel laws', but even if New York Times did not govern, the actual malice standard is required by New…
Court's conclusion
Ultimately, the panel saw 'no error in the district court's conclusion' that Maddow and her executive producer Cory Gnazzo's reliance on a Politico article as a source for their broadcast 'cannot support a finding of…
In short
2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds district court's dismissal of Devin Nunes' defamation claim against Rachel Maddow, ruling New York state law requires the 'actual malice' standard for public figures.
