Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., has filed a lawsuit against Hearst Magazines and a writer over a 2018 story in Esquire magazine, The Fresno Bee is reporting.
The newspaper noted the lawsuit, filed in an Iowa federal court, is the fifth lawsuit filed by Nunes this year.
In the latest case he is suing writer Ryan Lizza and the magazine company over a story headlined: “Devin Nunes’ Family Farm Is Hiding a Politically Explosive Secret.”
According to the newspaper, the so-called “secret” in the story was that the family had moved its dairy operation to Iowa in a community that relied on labor from undocumented immigrants.
The Bee noted Nunes confirmed in the suit that his family has owned a dairy in Sibley, Iowa for over a decade. But he claims in the suit the characterization of it as a “political explosive secret” was defamatory.
“They should be punished for their unlawful actions and a very strong message needs to be sent to prevent other so-called ‘journalists’ from acting in a similar way,” the complaint states.
Lizza declined comment on the suit, according to the newspaper.
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