CNN’s Stelter: Republicans Like Nunes Taking News Outlets to Court in Ways ‘That Could Chill Free Reporting’

By now, you’ve probably heard that House Intel Committee ranking Republican Devin Nunes is suing CNN for defamation over a recent report on claims from Lev Parnas’ attorney.

Parnas’ attorney told CNN that his client is willing to testify that Nunes was in Vienna last year meeting with former Ukranian prosecutor Victor Shokin to talk about getting dirt on Joe Biden. Nunes decried the report and denied he was in Vienna in the lawsuit he filed. The congressman is seeking $435 million in damages.

CNN’s Brian Stelter today brought up the president’s comments from the campaign trail about opening up libel laws before saying, “Other Republicans are taking news outlets to court in new ways. And in ways that could chill free reporting. It seems like a tactic. You file a lawsuit, you get attention for the lawsuit, you impress your supporters so even if you lose, you can show you battled the big, bad media.”

He addressed Nunes’ lawsuit against CNN and said he has to prove actual malice. Stelter also noted Nunes’ other lawsuits, including against Twitter and individual accounts like Liz Mair and @DevinCow.

Mair spoke with Stelter and said she couldn’t speculate about what Nunes is thinking, but said, “To me it looks very much like somebody who has sworn an oath to support and defend the Constitution is sort of picking and choosing about which bits he wants to support and defend. As a libertarian, in my view, it’s essential to support and defend all of it, including the First Amendment.”

You can watch above, via CNN.

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