Sibley, Iowa — Devin Nunes was not defamed by an article in Esquire magazine. That’s the opinion of a federal judge.
Nunes is a former California Congressman who filed suit against the magazine and the article’s author, Ryan Lizza in 2019 after the 2018 article.
Nunes alleged statements in the article created a false implication — that he, his family, and others including former northwest Iowa Congressman Steve King, conspired to hide the family’s move from California to Sibley because their farm employs undocumented laborers.
In his ruling, Judge C.J. Williams states, “The Court finds by clear and convincing evidence that there is a question as to whether actual malice existed. It is insufficient for Nunes to say defendants desired to inflict damage on Nunes and his career without proper evidence to support such a blanket statement. It also is insufficient for Nunes to claim Lizza knew he was publishing falsehoods because of the content of the interview tapes when nothing Nunes cites evidences contradiction between what Lizza wrote and what interviewees stated, including interview tapes.”
Williams also says the evidence supports the article’s reporting about the Nunes family’s immigrant workers.
The ruling was filed this week in Federal Court for the Northern District of Iowa. The question of whether to unseal certain documents supporting the motion for summary judgment is still before the court.
Click here for the judge’s memorandum opinion and order. (101 pages)
