A federal judge has dismissed former California congressman Devin Nunes’s defamation lawsuit against MSNBC host Rachel Maddow and NBCUniversal, ruling that the network’s reporting did not meet the legal threshold of “actual malice.”
In a 24-page decision issued Friday, U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel granted summary judgment to NBCUniversal. He concluded that “no reasonable jury could find that NBCU made the statement with constitutionally-defined actual malice.”
Nunes, a Republican and close ally of former President Donald Trump, filed the lawsuit in 2021 after Maddow reported on The Rachel Maddow Show that he refused to turn over to the FBI a package sent by Ukrainian lawmaker Andrii Derkach. Derkach had been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2020 as a Russian agent accused of attempting to interfere in the 2020 election.
Maddow’s statement relied on a Politico article that said a person familiar with the matter claimed the information was not given to the FBI and that Nunes had declined to comment. Nunes, however, insisted he did in fact turn over the package the same day it was received, and even alerted then–Attorney General William Barr.
Judge Castel acknowledged that Nunes disputed Maddow’s account but emphasized the strict legal standard for defamation cases involving public figures. Under Supreme Court precedent, plaintiffs must prove that a defamatory statement was made with knowledge it was false or with reckless disregard for the truth.
“Maddow and [executive producer Cory] Gnazzo both testified that they believed Politico was a reputable publication and that the authors were well respected,” Castel wrote. He added that NBCUniversal’s phrasing—that Nunes “refused” to turn the package over—was consistent with Politico’s reporting and fell short of proving actual malice.
Nunes argued that Maddow’s repeated criticism of him—citing 36 separate episodes in which she mentioned him—showed bias. Castel rejected that claim, writing that accusations of bias alone do not prove reckless disregard for the truth.
The court also considered NBCUniversal’s request to sanction Nunes for failing to preserve records after leaving Congress in early 2022. While Nunes did not instruct his staff to keep emails or documents, Castel said sanctions were unnecessary given the dismissal of the defamation case.
Nunes resigned from Congress in January 2022 to become CEO of Truth Social, Trump’s social media company.
