Rep. Devin Nunes' Defamation Case Against CNN Transferred to Manhattan Federal Court
U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne of the Eastern District of Virginia said it would be more convenient for the parties and witnesses to appear in Manhattan, where CNN is headquartered; he also said the California congressman has no clear ties to Richmond.
May 22, 2020 at 02:22 PM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on New York Law Journal
CNN Center in Atlanta. Photo: f11photo/Shutterstock.com
A Virginia federal judge on Friday granted CNN's request to transfer a defamation suit filed by U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes, R-California, to the Southern District of New York, finding there was "no logical connection" between the case and the Richmond, Virgnia, court where it was filed.
Nunes, a staunch defender of President Donald Trump in the Congress, last year sued the cable TV network in the Eastern District of Virginia over a Nov. 22 story that linked Nunes to an alleged plot to pressure Ukrainian officials to investigate Joe Biden, the former vice president and now the presumptive Democratic nominee for president.
The CNN report quoted Joe Bondy, an attorney for indicted Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas, who said Nunes had met with Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin last December in Vienna. Parnas is set to stand trial later this year in Manhattan on campaign finance charges related to an alleged scheme to funnel foreign money into U.S. elections.
According to the report, Congressional travel records showed that Nunes and three aides traveled to Europe but did not include the trip to Vienna. The story also noted that Nunes was not required to disclose the exact details of the trip and said that CNN had reached out to Nunes and others for comment. Reporter Vicky Ward later went on CNN's Cuomo Prime Time program with Chris Cuomo to discuss the story.
Nunes claimed in his suit that CNN's coverage attempted to "accuse" or "impute" that he had committed felonies or crimes of moral turpitude and was unfit to "perform the duties of an office or employment for profit."
The two-count lawsuit alleges that CNN had acted with actual malice and had conspired with Parnas' attorneys to defame him. It seeks more than $435 million in damages.
In Friday's transfer order, U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne of the Eastern District of Virginia said it would be more convenient for the parties and witnesses to appear in Manhattan, where CNN is headquartered and many of its employees live. Nunes himself had no clear ties to Richmond and would have to travel regardless of where the case proceeded, the judge said.
Payne also raised "significant concerns" over forum shopping, saying he had warned Nunes' attorney "on multiple occasions" that the court "cannot stand as a willing repository for which have no real nexus to this district."
"The Eastern District of Virginia is not Nunes' home forum, and there is no logical connection between the events in this case and this district," Payne wrote in a 17-page opinion.
Attorneys for Nunes and CNN did not respond Friday to requests for comment.
The case, captioned Nunes v. CNN, has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain of the Southern District of New York.
CNN is represented by Kevin T. Baine, Dane H. Butswinkas and Stephen Fuzesi of Williams & Connolly.
Nunes' listed counsel in the case is Steven Scott Biss, a solo practitioner from Richmond.
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