by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack
SDNY COURTHOUSE, Oct 24 – Then Congressman Devin Nunes sued NBC after Rachel Maddow reported on March 18, 2021 that he had gotten a package from Russian agent Andriy Derkach and had not turned it over to the FBI.
On October 8, 2024 a proceeding was held before U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge P. Kevin Castel. Inner City Press was there, thread:
OK - now at Devin Nunes v. NBCUniversal, defamation case. As only media here, Inner City Press will live tweet
Nunes' lawyer: We will establish reckless disregard [of the truth] thought Rachel Maddow's testimony. Defense: She relied on Politico. And she read the interview in Breitbart. Judge: But if Politico had an unidentified source, could Rachel Maddow rely on it?
Defense: Rachel Maddow was asked that at her deposition. She routinely relies on Politico. Defense: It was vetted by Politico and Mr. Nunez was given every opportunity to rebut it and did not. Judge: A public figure might have a good reason to not confirm publicly that they turned something over to the FBI...
Defense: Rep Pelosi went public about packages from Russian agents. Rep Nunes was unwilling to speak. And the documents were not preserved. We got an FBI 302 that does not jibe with his allegations. All we got was his letter to the Attorney General
Judge: Did you speak with the Nunes staffer who allegedly turned the package over to the FBI? Defense: We have... Nunes' lawyer: Leaving aside whether Politico is credible, NBC's own policies disfavor single unidentified sources.
Judge: On NBC's motion [for summary judgment], it's due Nov 21, opposition Jan 13, reply Feb 12. This is set in stone.
On October 16, Nunes' counsel asked for a discovery conference, including on "the instruction that was given to Ms. Maddow not to answer further questions related to her personal political views; an instruction made only after extensive questioning on the topic had been conducted." E-mail between counsel on Patreon here.
On October 23 Nunes' counsel sent in another letter reiterating his demand to Maddow's personal devices, stating that "Ms. Maddow testified that she does in fact use her personal devices to communicate with colleagues regarding work." Letter on Patreon here.
More / extra on X for Subscribers here and Substack here
The case is Nunes v. NBCUniversal Media, LLC, 1:22-cv-1633 (Castel)
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