Sibley, Iowa — A U.S. Congressman from California, who has ties to northwest Iowa, has filed a federal lawsuit against Hearst Magazines, the publisher of Esquire Magazine, and one of their writers, seeking a multi-million-dollar damage award.
California Congressman Devon Nunes filed the suit in Federal District Court in Sioux City over what his lawsuit contends was a “Hit Piece” authored by Esquire writer Ryan Lizza prior to last year’s congressional elections.
According to the complaint filed Monday, Nunes asserts that the article, which was entitled, “Devin Nunes Family Farm Is Hiding A Politically Explosive Secret,” was “sensational and scandalous.” The complaint goes on to say the piece was republished by third parties on the internet and social media.”
The article at the heart of the lawsuit was published in September, 2018, and in the words of the lawsuit complaint, the defendants “knowingly and recklessly injured Nunes’ reputation with a scandalous hit piece that intentionally disparaged Nunes and his family.” The filing also accused Nunes of “dishonesty, deceit, conspiracy and unethical practices, and severely impugned Nunes’ integrity and skills as a United States Congressman.”
The article attempted to paint a negative image of Nunes, and allegedly indicated that there was a scandal due to Nunes’ family’s move to Sibley from California a decade earlier.
The filing also reports that Lizza traveled to Sibley, where he “lurked around Nunes’ grammar-school aged nieces and stalked members of Nunes family, reducing his sister-in-law to tears.”
Nunes’ family, including his brother and parents, operate a dairy farm near Sibley.
Nunes demands a Jury Trial in his lawsuit, and asks for $75,000,000 in actual damages, and an additional $2,500,000 in punitive damages from the publisher and the reporter.
You can read the Lawsuit Complaint as filed with the federal court by CLICKING HERE.
Photo: California Congressman Devin Nunes, Official Congressional photo
