From today's decision in Nunes v. NBCUniversal Media, LLC by Judge P. Kevin Castel (S.D.N.Y.):
Plaintiff Devin Nunes, a former Member of the House of Representatives, alleges that he was defamed by defendant NBCUniversal Media, LLC. According to Nunes, statements made on the March 18, 2021 broadcast of The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC portrayed him in a false and defamatory light. The statements purported to describe Nunes's conduct regarding a package addressed to him from Andriy Derkach, a Ukrainian legislator with ties to Russian officials and intelligence services….
On December 11, 2019, a package was delivered to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence …, of which Nunes was Ranking Member. It was addressed to Nunes from Andriy Derkach and was handled solely by Nunes' staff and delivered, unopened, to the offices of the FBI. That same day, Nunes sent a letter to Attorney General William P. Barr advising him of the receipt of the package.
On July 29, 2020, the Intelligence Committee held an open business meeting. During this meeting, Representative Sean Maloney asked Nunes two questions. First, Maloney asked if Nunes had received materials from Derkach. Second, Maloney asked if, in the event that Nunes had received materials, whether he was prepared to share them with the Committee. When asked if he wished to respond to the questions, Nunes declined.
In March 10, 2021, the National Intelligence Council declassified a report titled "Foreign Threats to the 2020 US Federal Elections" (the "DNI Report"). The report stated that Derkach and his associates sought to use prominent Americans to "launder their narratives to US officials and audiences." The report also stated that Derkach provided materials to individuals linked to the Trump administration and attempted to contact several senior U.S. officials.
In the March 18, 2021 broadcast of The Rachel Maddow Show, host Rachel Maddow discussed the declassified DNI Report as part of a longer segment about Derkach, Russian disinformation and election interference. Maddow referred to the report and discussed the package addressed to Nunes, as well as the interaction between Nunes and Maloney at the Intelligence Committee meeting. Maddow said that Nunes had accepted a package from Derkach and refused to answer questions about the package. Maddow also said that Nunes refused to hand the package to the FBI.
The court allowed the libel claim to proceed as to the last sentence in the statement that "Congressman Nunes has refused to answer questions about what he received from Andriy Derkach. He has refused to show the contents of the package to other members of the intelligence community. He has refused to hand it over to the FBI which is what you should do if you get something from somebody who is sanctioned by the U.S. as a Russian agent." (Emphasis added.)
