IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF IOWA
Western Division

DEVIN G. NUNES
Plaintiff,
v.

RYAN LIZZA
-andHEARST MAGAZINES, INC.
Defendants.

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Civil Action No.
TRIAL BY JURY
IS DEMANDED

COMPLAINT
Plaintiff, Devin G. Nunes, by counsel, files the following Complaint against
defendants, Ryan Lizza (“Lizza”) and Hearst Magazines, Inc., the publisher of Esquire
magazine (“Hearst” or “Esquire”), jointly and severally.
Plaintiff seeks (a) compensatory damages and punitive damages in the sum of

$75,000,000.00, (b) prejudgment interest on the principal sum awarded by the Jury
from the date of the commencement of this action until the date of Judgment, and (c)
costs incurred – arising out of the Defendants’ defamation and common law conspiracy.
In support of his claim, Plaintiff states the following facts:

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 I. INTRODUCTION
1.

Lizza is a high-profile, left-wing political journalist, well-known for his

extreme bias towards Plaintiff. 1 Lizza was a fixture of the main stream media until
December 2017, when his then-employer – The New Yorker magazine – summarily
severed all ties and publicly terminated Lizza because of “improper sexual conduct”.
[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/11/business/ryan-lizza-sexual-misconduct.html;
https://www.wigdorlaw.com/ryan-lizza-sexual-misconduct/].

Lizza’s name had been

included in the “Shitty Media Men” list that circulated in response to allegations
published about Harvey Weinstein. [https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/11/newyorker-fires-ryan-lizza-sexual-misconduct-290504]. In June 2018, Esquire announced
that

it

had

hired

Lizza

as

the

magazine’s

chief

political

correspondent.

[https://splinternews.com/this-is-how-easy-it-is-for-a-man-accused-of-sexual-mis1826675779].

Lizza only lasted a short time at Esquire.

During his brief tenure,

however, he physically traveled to Sibley, Iowa, where he lurked around Plaintiff’s
grammar-school aged nieces and stalked members of Plaintiff’s family, reducing
Plaintiff’s sister-in-law to tears. [https://thefederalist.com/2018/10/02/ryan-lizzas-hitpiece-on-devin-nunes-extended-family-is-deeply-flawed/].
2.

On September 30, 2018, Lizza and Esquire knowingly and recklessly

injured Plaintiff’s reputation with a scandalous hit piece that intentionally disparaged
Plaintiff and his family, accused Plaintiff of dishonesty, deceit, conspiracy, and unethical
practices, and severely impugned his integrity and skills as a United States Congressman.

[See, e.g., https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-the-whitehouse-and-republicans-blew-up-the-house-russia-investigation;
https://twitter.com/RyanLizza/status/987185831642304515].
1

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 Lizza and Esquire published the hit piece online and, acting in concert with others,
targeted Plaintiff via social media. The false and defamatory statements were foreseeably
republished millions of times, including in thousands of print and digital magazines
distributed and sold in Iowa, read by Iowans in Iowa.
3.

In this case, Plaintiff seeks money damages for the insult, pain,

embarrassment, humiliation, mental suffering, anguish, and injury to his good name and
professional reputation in Iowa and elsewhere, caused by the Defendants’ defamation.
The Defendants published click-bait, sensationalist, egregious misstatements simply to
sell magazines and, in Lizza’s case, to distract readers from his negative image and
history as a sexual predator and to improve his standing. The Defendants’ had an axe to
grind against Plaintiff, and wrote the hit piece in order to accomplish a nefarious purpose.
Defendants’ misconduct exemplifies the very worst of modern “journalism”.

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.
II. PARTIES
4.

Plaintiff, Devin G. Nunes (“Plaintiff”), is a citizen of California. Born

October 1, 1973, Plaintiff has served in the United States House of Representatives since
2003. He and his wife have three daughters. Plaintiff is the author of the book, Restoring
the Republic, which was published in September 2010. Plaintiff’s family is of
Portuguese descent, having emigrated from the Azores to California. From childhood, he
worked on a farm that his family operated in Tulare County, California, for three
generations. Plaintiff raised cattle as a teenager, used his savings to begin a harvesting
business, and then bought his own farmland with his brother. Plaintiff’s parents, brother

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 and sister-in-law all live and work in Sibley, Iowa. They have operated a dairy farm in
Sibley for more than a decade. Plaintiff currently serves as Ranking Member of the
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, having been appointed to the
Committee in the 112th Congress and serving as Committee Chairman during the 114th
and 115th Congresses. Congressman Nunes has traveled extensively to war zones to meet
with soldiers and examine first-hand their status. As a member of the House Permanent
Select Committee on Intelligence, he participates in oversight of the U.S. national
security apparatus, including the intelligence-related activities of seventeen agencies,
departments, and other elements of the United States Government. He authored the
Hubbard Act of 2008 (H.R. 5825), which was named in honor of the Hubbard brothers of
California – Jared, Nathan, and Jason. Jared and Nathan lost their lives serving in Iraq.
Jason was discharged as a sole survivor, but was denied separation benefits upon leaving
the Army. The Hubbard Act provides sole survivors with numerous benefits that were
already offered to other soldiers honorably discharged. It relieves sole survivors from
repaying any portion of their enlistment bonus; entitles them to the educational benefits
of the Montgomery GI Bill; and allows them to receive separation pay and transitional
healthcare coverage. [https://nunes.house.gov/about/; https://www.devinnunes.com/bio].
5.

Plaintiff’s career as a United States Congressman is distinguished by his

honor, dedication and service to his constituents and his country, his honesty, integrity,
ethics, and reputation for truthfulness and veracity.

The qualities disparaged by

Defendants – Plaintiff’s honesty, veracity, integrity, ethics, judgment and performance as
United States Congressman – are particularly valuable to Plaintiff and are absolutely

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 necessary in the conduct of public office, including Plaintiff’s then-role as Chairman of
the House Intelligence Committee.
6.

Defendant, Lizza, is, upon information and belief, a citizen of Virginia or

the District of Columbia. Lizza wrote the hit piece at issue in this action for Hearst for
publication in Esquire magazine.
7.

Defendant, Hearst, is a Delaware corporation.

Its headquarters and

principal place of business is New York. Hearst publishes Esquire magazine. Hearst is a
unit of Hearst Corporation, a global media, information and services company. Hearst’s
print and digital assets reach 155 million readers and site visitors each month – two-thirds
of all millennials, and over 80% of Gen Z and millennial women in the country. Esquire
magazine has a total print circulation of 759,922, 97% of which are subscriptions.
[http://www.esquiremediakit.com/r5/home.asp]. Upon information and belief, Hearst has
hundreds of thousands of print and digital subscribers and viewers who live and work in
Iowa.
III. JURISDICTION AND VENUE
8.

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa has

subject matter jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332. The parties are
citizens of different States, and the amount in controversy exceeds the sum or value of
$75,000, exclusive of interest, costs and fees.
9.

The Defendants are subject to specific personal jurisdiction in Iowa. They

transact substantial business in Iowa and committed multiple acts of defamation in whole
or part in Iowa. They have minimum contacts with Iowa such that the exercise of
personal jurisdiction over them comports with traditional notions of fair play and

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 substantial justice and is consistent with the Due Process clause of the United States
Constitution.

Defendants purposefully availed themselves of the privilege of doing

business in Iowa. Defendants’ defamation was purposefully directed at Iowa. Plaintiff’s
claims arise directly from and specifically relate to Defendants’ publication of false and
defamatory statements in Iowa. Keeton v. Hustler Magazine, Inc., 465 U.S. 770 (1984).
10.

Venue is proper in the Western Division of the United States District

Court for the Northern District of Iowa. A substantial part of the events giving rise to the
claims stated in this action occurred in Osceola County within the Western Division of
the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.
IV. STATEMENT OF THE FACTS
11.

At all times relevant to this action, Lizza had a Twitter account that he

used to conduct his business on behalf of Esquire:

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 12.

On September 30, 2018, Hearst published an article in Esquire magazine

written by Lizza entitled “Devin Nunes’s Family Farm Is Hiding a Politically
Explosive

Secret”.

[https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a23471864/devin-nunes-

family-farm-iowa-california/ (the “Lizza Hit Piece”)].
13.

On September 30, 2018, Lizza republished the Lizza Hit Piece to a new

target audience – his 230,000+ followers on Twitter:

[https://twitter.com/ryanlizza/status/1046543162964156416?lang=en].

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 14.

On multiple occasions, Esquire republished the Lizza Hit Piece to its

400,000+ Twitter followers. [https://twitter.com/esquire/status/1046550720676327424;
https://twitter.com/esquire/status/1046754438365491202]. On March 28, 2019, Esquire
gratuitously republished the Lizza Hit Piece together with the following false and
defamatory statement:

[https://twitter.com/esquire/status/1111272460299763712].

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 15.

On September 30, 2018, Lizza’s girlfriend, Olivia Nuzzi (“Nuzzi”), a

correspondent with New York magazine, tweeted the Lizza Hit Piece to her 200,000
Twitter followers:

[https://twitter.com/Olivianuzzi/status/1046551283891621889]. Acting in concert with
Lizza, Nuzzi coordinated and heavily promoted Lizza’s smear campaign, including his
appearance on CNN:

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 [https://twitter.com/Olivianuzzi/status/1046810204724187148].
16.

On October 1, 2018, the then-editor-in-chief of Esquire, Jay Fielden

(“Fielden”), combined and acted together with Lizza and Nuzzi to further advertise the
Lizza Hit Piece and Lizza’s appearance on CNN to spread the defamation to CNN’s
millions of viewers. Fielden published additional false and defamatory statements about
Plaintiff:

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 [https://twitter.com/JayFielden/status/1046771891040587777].
17.

Between September 30, 2018 and the present, Lizza, Nuzzi, Fielden and

Esquire’s combined 800,000+ Twitter followers and other third-parties republished the
Lizza Hit Piece millions of times.

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 18.

On October 2, 2018, Lizza republished the Lizza Hit Piece to a new target

audience: the subscribers and viewers of the online publication, RealClearPolitics.
[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/2018/10/02/is_nunes039s_family_farm_hiding_a_poli
tically_explosive_secret_455042.html (“Is Nunes's Family Farm Hiding a Politically
Explosive Secret?”)].
19.

The Lizza Hit Piece was a deeply flawed and desperate attempt by the

Defendants (a) to target Plaintiff ahead of the November 2018 Congressional election, (b)
to undermine confidence in Plaintiff and interfere with his official duties as Chairman of
the House Intelligence Committee to investigate Russian interference in the 2016
Presidential election, and (c) to retaliate against Plaintiff for exposing corruption,
including the DNC/Clinton campaign’s role in funding the salacious “Steele dossier”.
[https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2018/10/01/devin-nunes-parents-stalked-iowa-move/;
https://twitter.com/TomFitton/status/1047176155118411777].
20.

From start to finish, the Lizza Hit Piece is a legion of lies. The click-bait

headline falsely states or implies that Plaintiff owned an interest in his family’s farm in
Sibley, Iowa, and that Plaintiff was involved in hiding a “Politically Explosive Secret”.
Plaintiff does not own an interest in his family’s dairy farm in Iowa, never has, and is not
involved in any way in its operations. The Lizza Hit Piece falsely accuses Plaintiff, the
“head of the House Intelligence Committee and one of President Trump’s biggest
defenders”, of being involved in covering-up a “secret”, to wit:
●

“Devin Nunes’s Family Farm Is Hiding a Politically Explosive Secret”.

●

“So why did [Plaintiff’s] parents and brother cover their tracks after

quietly moving the farm to Iowa? Are they hiding something politically explosive?”

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 ●

“Devin Nunes has a secret”.

●

“Which brings us back to Nunes’s secret”.

●

“So here’s the secret: The Nunes family dairy of political lore—the one

where his brother and parents work—isn’t in California. It’s in Iowa”.
●

“There’s nothing particularly strange about a congressman’s family

moving. But what is strange is that the family has apparently tried to conceal the move
from the public—for more than a decade”.
●

“Why would the Nuneses, Steve King, and an obscure dairy publication

all conspire to hide the fact that the congressman’s family sold its farm and moved to
Iowa?”
●

“On the other hand, [Plaintiff] and his parents seemed to have concealed

basic facts about the family’s move to Iowa. It was suspicious”.
21.

The false claim that Plaintiff “conspired” with his own family,

Congressman King, and an Iowa dairy publication to “hide” his family’s “secret” move to
Iowa is utterly unsupported by any evidence. It is a malicious lie made out of whole
cloth that spread like wildfire throughout mainstream media and on social media as a
result of publication of the Lizza Hit Piece.
22.

The Lizza Hit Piece falsely portrays Lizza as a hard-working reporter

earnestly investigating a real story on the ground in Iowa, being stalked and intimidated
by Plaintiff’s family. In truth, as was reported almost immediately after publication of
the Lizza Hit Piece, while he was in Sibley, Lizza stalked Plaintiff’s grammar-school
aged nieces, behaved like a sex offender or pedophile cruising the local neighborhood for
victims, frightened a family member to tears, and exploited a grieving mother.

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 23.

Viewed in context and as a whole, the Lizza Hit Piece, directly and/or by

implication, made the following false and defamatory statements about Plaintiff:
a.

“Devin Nunes has a secret”.

b.

Plaintiff used his position as Chairman of the House Intelligence

Committee as a “battering ram to discredit the Russia investigation and protect Donald
Trump at all costs, even if it means shredding his own reputation and the independence of
the historically nonpartisan committee in the process”.
c.

Plaintiff “used the Intelligence Committee to spin a baroque theory

about alleged surveillance of the Trump campaign that began with a made-up Trump
tweet about how ‘Obama had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower’”. 2
d.

“Devin; his brother, Anthony III; and his parents, Anthony Jr. and

Toni Dian, sold their California farmland in 2006. Anthony Jr. and Toni Dian, who has
also been the treasurer of every one of Devin’s campaigns since 2001, used their cash
from the sale to buy a dairy eighteen hundred miles away in Sibley, a small town in
northwest Iowa where they—as well as Anthony III, Devin’s only sibling, and his wife,
Lori—have lived since 2007 … [W]hat is strange is that the family has apparently tried to
conceal the move from the public—for more than a decade”.

Lizza’s statements are knowingly false for two (2) reasons. First,
following President Trump’s tweet, Nunes immediately and publicly stated there was no
evidence of a wiretap in Trump Tower, even if there was legitimate concern about other
surveillance.
https://thefederalist.com/2017/03/23/heres-why-nunes-obama-spyingrevelations-are-such-a-big-deal/]. Second, there is no dispute that there was surveillance
of the Trump campaign. It was laid out in great detail throughout both the mainstream
media and the conservative press, which widely reported that Trump associates were
targeted by FBI informants, FISA wiretaps, national security letters, and more. Based on
his review of the public record, Lizza knew his statements about Plaintiff were false.
2

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 e.

“Why would the Nuneses, Steve King, and an obscure dairy

publication all conspire to hide the fact that the congressman’s family sold its farm and
moved to Iowa?”
f.

“Devin Nunes was the public figure at the heart of this, and he had

no financial interest in his parents’ Iowa dairy operation. On the other hand, he and his
parents seemed to have concealed basic facts about the family’s move to Iowa. It was
suspicious. And his mom, who co-owns the Sibley dairy, is also the treasurer of his
campaign”.
g.

“I laid out the facts I had uncovered in Sibley, including the

intimidation of sources and the Devin Nunes angle, and asked him for advice. ‘I’d tell
that story,’ he said. He paused and added, ‘We’re a sanctuary church, if you need a place
to stay. You’re safe here!’”
h.
about?

“Is it possible the Nuneses have nothing to be seriously concerned

Of course, but I never got the chance to ask because Anthony Jr. and

Representative Nunes did not respond to numerous requests for interviews.” 3

The Lizza Hit Piece was sensational and scandalous. Lizza even exploited
the death of Brenda Hoyer’s son to promote his false narrative about Plaintiff and his
family. Lizza wrote:
3

“Then she told me something that knocked the wind out of me: ‘My son recently
took his life.’ It came out of nowhere, and I barely knew how to respond. His
name was Bailey. He was seventeen and he had died thirteen days ago. This was
the first day the coffee shop had been open since his death. I noticed a Bible
verse in chalk behind the counter: ‘Do not fear for I have redeemed you. I have
summoned you by name. You are mine.’ The Lantern, I later learned, was
actually a ministry that, according to its website, provides ‘a safe place where
everyone is welcome.’ I liked it there and decided to make it my office while I
was in Sibley”.

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 24.

The Lizza Hit Piece ascribes and imputes to Plaintiff conduct,

characteristics and conditions, including dishonesty, deception, lying, conspiracy,
corruption, bias, lack of integrity and ethics, that would adversely affect his fitness to be a
United States Congressman and/or businessperson. The strong defamatory gist and false
implication from the Lizza Hit Piece is that Plaintiff was involved in, covered-up, used
his office to cover up, conspired with others to conceal, or was aware of criminal
wrongdoing.
25.

The Lizza Hit Piece was republished by third-parties millions of times on

the Internet and via social media, e.g.:
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/09/one-devin-nunes-family-sold-farms-movediowa-decade-ago-still-calls-farmer/
(“All but one of Devin Nunes’ family sold their farms and moved to Iowa over a
decade ago — why are they hiding?”);
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/10/devin-nunes-family-farmcalifornia/
(“What an Explosive Story About Devin Nunes’ Family Farm Means for His
High-Profile House Race”);
https://fresnocountydemocrats.org/nunes-iowa-family-farm-exposed/
(“It is disgusting that Devin Nunes has been lying for years about his family farm,
pretending he is one of us. Devin has shown once again that he’s left the Valley
and the values we hold dear behind just to make a profit. His family moving their
farm to Iowa and lying to Californians to protect Devin’s political career is just
the latest and most heinous example”);
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/10/02/just-how-politicallyexplosive-is-devin-nunes-secret-esquire-uncovered/
(“Just how ‘politically explosive' is the Devin Nunes secret that Esquire
uncovered?”);
https://www.salon.com/2018/10/01/devin-nunes-family-farm-may-useundocumented-immigrant-labor/
(“Devin Nunes’ family farm likely using undocumented labor - The reporter
who covered the story was tailed by members of Nunes' family as he conducted
his interviews”);

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 https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-10-04/dairy-farmers-likedevin-nunes-flee-california-for-the-midwest
(“Devin Nunes Isn’t the Only Dairy Farmer Souring On California”);
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1046776772853944320
(“Devin Nunes’ family secretly relocated their dairy farm from California to Iowa
more than a decade ago. The farm reportedly relies heavily on the work of
undocumented immigrants, according to Ryan Lizza in Esquire”);
https://twitter.com/GlennThrush/status/1046819941100507136
(“What’s impressive about this amazing @RyanLizza story is that he doesn’t
caricature Nunes’ positions on immigration to better ‘peg’ the story. He just lets
the ambiguities and ironies pile up like dishes in a sink”);
https://twitter.com/ikebarinholtz/status/1046567609930579970
(“This is BONKERS and Devin Nunes simply has to go. Bravo @RyanLizza”);
https://twitter.com/AynRandPaulRyan/status/1046750851874734082
(“‘Things got weird’ should be the Republican’s 2020 campaign slogan. Add one
more scandal to the GOP #CultureOfCorruption”);
https://twitter.com/evepeyser/status/1046834244880928770
(“check out @RyanLizza’s investigation into Devin Nunes’ secret family dairy
farm in Iowa”);
https://twitter.com/SaysHummingbird/status/1047143285196828673
(“Devin Nunes has a secret”);
https://twitter.com/awprokop/status/1046564541054808064
(“Come for Devin Nunes being deceptive about his biography, stay for Nunes’s
parents, brother, and sister-in-law *following @RyanLizza around* as he reports
in Iowa”);
https://twitter.com/TrueFactsStated/status/1158447685571174400
(“Devin Nunes's Family Farm Moved to Iowa, Employs Undocumented
Workers”).
26.

The Lizza Hit Piece was knowingly and intentionally flawed. Lizza came

to Sibley with a preconceived storyline. He fabricated a “secret” where none existed.
[See,

e.g.,

https://thefederalist.com/2018/10/02/ryan-lizzas-hit-piece-on-devin-nunes-

extended-family-is-deeply-flawed/ (“It turns out that Nunes doesn’t have a secret, that
he’s not a hypocrite on immigration policy, and that the Iowans Lizza met were wary of

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 him slowly driving around town while children were at play because they discovered
Lizza had recently been fired from his job for sexual misconduct … Since it’s beyond
creepy to be lurking around a congressmen’s young nieces and other family members,
Lizza makes the case that he has a reason other than his well-established animus toward
Nunes for doing so … In interviews with more than half a dozen residents of Sibley,
Iowa, they told a far different story. Lizza arrived in town and began slowly driving
around neighborhoods in a dark car with out of town license plates. One neighbor of the
Nunes family told me he spotted the car slowly driving by a Nunes family residence.
This is in a small town where children play freely, and neighbors keep an eye out for each
other. He expressed his concern to the family.

Another resident told me that he

encountered a Nunes family member crying because she’d discovered that the man who
was surveilling her house had recently been fired for sexual misconduct. With three
grammar-school aged daughters, she was concerned for their safety … In conversations
with other residents of the town, they say that Lizza lied or mischaracterized other
interactions as well. A woman who recently experienced the tragic death of her son and
who had shown hospitality to Lizza was used for “color” in the story”); see also
[‘Collateral Damage’: Iowa Town Residents Angered by Esquire Hit Piece on Devin
Nuneshttps://www.breitbart.com/politics/2018/10/01/devin-nunes-parents-stalked-iowamove/ (“Disgraced Reporter Ryan Lizza Stalks Devin Nunes’ Parents in Iowa”);
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2018/10/07/collateral-damage-iowa-town-residentsangered-by-esquire-hit-piece-on-devin-nunes/ (“‘Collateral Damage’: Iowa Town
Residents Angered by Esquire Hit Piece on Devin Nunes”)].

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 COUNT I – DEFAMATION
27.

Plaintiff restates paragraphs 1 through 26 of this Complaint, and

incorporates them herein by reference.
28.

Lizza and Hearst made and published to third-parties, including, but not

limited to, Nuzzi, to advertisers, subscribers, readers, viewers and followers of Esquire,
and to print media, mainstream media and social media, numerous false factual
statements of and concerning Plaintiff. These statements are detailed verbatim above.
Lizza and Hearst’s false and defamatory statements were published and republished
within the past year without privilege, justification or legal excuse of any kind. The false
and defamatory statements were not published in good faith or through misinformation or
mistake.

Lizza and Hearst published the words intentionally to harm Plaintiff’s

reputation.
29.

By publishing the Lizza Hit Piece in print magazines distributed in Iowa

and throughout the United States, on the Internet and via social media such as Twitter,
Lizza and Hearst knew or should have known that their false and defamatory statements
about Plaintiff would be republished over and over by third-parties millions of times to
Plaintiff’s detriment and injury. By tweeting the Lizza Hit Piece themselves and by
encouraging others to tweet, retweet and post the Lizza Hit Piece to Twitter, Lizza and
Hearst created an unreasonable risk that the defamatory matter in the Lizza Hite Piece
would be communicated by third-parties. Republication by print media, mainstream
media, and via social media in 2018 and 2019 was the natural, foreseeable, reasonably
expected and probable consequence of Lizza and Hearst’s actions and was actually and/or

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 presumptively authorized by Lizza and Hearst. Lizza and Hearst are liable for the
republications of the false and defamatory statements by third-parties.
30.

Lizza and Hearst’s false statements constitute defamation per se or

defamation per quod. The statements impute to Plaintiff an unfitness to perform the
duties of an office or employment for profit, or the want of integrity in the discharge of
the duties of such office or employment. Lizza and Hearst’s statements also prejudice
Plaintiff in his profession as a United States Congressman.
31.

Lizza and Hearst’s false statements caused Plaintiff to suffer and incur

both presumed and actual damages. Lizza and Hearst’s false statements caused Plaintiff
to suffer loss of standing in his professional field, insult, pain, embarrassment,
humiliation, and mental suffering, harm to his name and reputation, out-of-pocket loss
and other actual damages.
32.

Lizza and Hearst acted with actual malice and reckless disregard for the

truth for the following reasons:
a.

Lizza and Hearst and their editors and publishers violated their

own code or standards of ethics and abandoned all journalistic standards in writing,
editing and publishing the Lizza Hit Piece. https://members.newsleaders.org/resourcesethics-hearst (“We place our readers’ interests above all others, and dedicate ourselves to
the principles of truthfulness, fairness and independence. We understand that the free
flow of accurate information is vital to our system of government and the foundations of
our economy … The deliberate introduction of false information into our newspapers will
not be tolerated”); https://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp (“Members of the Society of
Professional Journalists believe that public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and

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 the foundation of democracy. Ethical journalism strives to ensure the free exchange of
information that is accurate, fair and thorough. An ethical journalist acts with integrity.
The Society declares these four principles as the foundation of ethical journalism and
encourages their use in its practice by all people in all media”)].
b.

Lizza and Hearst conceived a story line in advance of any

investigation and then consciously set out to make the evidence conform to the
preconceived story.

Lizza and Hearst pursued and regurgitated the preconceived

narrative that they knew to be false.
c.

Lizza and Hearst published the preconceived narrative out of a

desire to embarrass Plaintiff, undermine confidence in his abilities to act as Chairman of
the House Intelligence Committee, and influence the 2018 Congressional election
d.

Lizza and Hearst knowingly presented half-truths and sensational

statements in an effort to sell magazine and online subscriptions.
e.

The Lizza Hit Piece evinces extreme bias, ill-will and a desire to

hurt Plaintiff. Lizza and Esquire chose to manufacture and publish false statements about
Plaintiff and to use unnecessarily strong and violent language, disproportionate to the
occasion. Lizza and Hearst did not act in good faith because, in the total absence of
evidence, they could not have had an honest belief in the truth of their statements about
Plaintiff.
f.

Lizza and Hearst published the false defamatory statements out of

a desire to gain notoriety, increase advertising and other revenues for Hearst, with
reckless disregard for the consequences.

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 g.

Lizza and Hearst relied on sources, including anonymous and

unnamed persons, they knew were wholly unreliable and had an axe to grind against
Plaintiff.
h.

Lizza, Nuzzi, Hearst and their agents repeated, reiterated and

republished the Lizza Hit Piece out of a desire to injure Plaintiff and to spread the poison
in the pool.
33.

Lizza and Hearst directed false and defamatory statements at Plaintiff with

the specific intent to harm Plaintiff’s reputation. They lacked reasonable grounds for any
belief in the truth of their statements. They acted with willful and wanton disregard for
the rights and safety of Plaintiff.
34.

As a direct result of Lizza and Hearst’s defamation, Plaintiff suffered

presumed damages and actual damages, including, but not limited to, insult, pain and
suffering, emotional distress and trauma, insult, anguish, stress and anxiety, public
ridicule, humiliation, embarrassment, indignity, damage and injury to his personal and
professional reputations, loss of enjoyment of life, diminished future earning capacity,
out-of-pocket expenses and costs, in the sum of $75,000,000.00 or such greater amount
as is determined by the Jury.
35.

Prior to filing this action, Plaintiff gave notice to the Defendants and made

a demand for retraction of the defamatory statements at issue. The Defendants have
failed and/or refuse to retract or withdraw the defamatory statements.
COUNT II – COMMON LAW CONSPIRACY
36.

Plaintiff restates paragraphs 1 through 35 of his Complaint, and

incorporates them herein by reference.

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 37.

Beginning in 2018 after Esquire hired him and continuing through the

present, Lizza combined, associated, agreed or acted in concert with Nuzzi, with agents
of Esquire, including Fielden, with agents and employees of CNN, and with others in
social media for the express purposes of promoting, publishing and republishing the
Lizza Hit Piece, defaming and injuring Plaintiff, and intentionally and unlawfully
impeding and interfering with his business and employment as a U.S. Congressman. In
furtherance of the conspiracy and preconceived plan, Lizza engaged in a joint scheme
with others the unlawful purpose of which was to injure Plaintiff’s personal and
professional reputations, advance the left-wing goals of Nuzzi and Hearst, interfere with
Plaintiff’s duties as a United States Congressman, and influence the outcome of the 2018
Congressional election.
38.

The Lizza Hit Piece posted to the Internet on September 30, 2018. Lizza

coordinated publication and republication of the defamation with CNN. CNN agreed to
participate in the conspiracy and spread the false statements. Within hours, CNN had
cameras on the ground in both Iowa and California at Plaintiff’s family’s farms seeking
comment.
39.

Lizza acted intentionally, purposefully, without lawful justification, and

with the express knowledge that he and his confederates were defaming Plaintiff and
impugning his character. As evidenced by their concerted action online and via Twitter,
Lizza and Nuzzi acted with the express and malicious intent to cause Plaintiff permanent
harm.
40.

Lizza’s actions constitute a conspiracy at common law.

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 41.

As a direct result of Lizza’s willful misconduct, Plaintiff suffered actual

damages, including, but not limited to, insult, pain, embarrassment, humiliation, mental
suffering, injury to his reputation, special damages, costs, and other out-of-pocket
expenses, in the sum of $75,000,000.00 or such greater amount as is determined by the
Jury.

Plaintiff alleges the foregoing based upon personal knowledge, public statements
of others, and records in his possession. Plaintiff believes that substantial additional
evidentiary support, which is in the exclusive possession of Lizza, Nuzzi, Fielden and
Hearst and their agents and other third-parties, will exist for the allegations and claims set
forth above after a reasonable opportunity for discovery.
Plaintiff reserves his right to amend this Complaint upon discovery of additional
instances of the Defendants’ wrongdoing.

CONCLUSION AND REQUEST FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff, Devin G. Nunes, respectfully requests the Court to enter
Judgment against Lizza and Hearst, jointly and severally, as follows:
A.

Compensatory damages in the amount of $75,000,000.00 or such greater

amount as is determined by the Jury;
B.

Punitive damages in the amount of $2,500,000.00 or the maximum

amount allowed by Iowa law;
C.

Prejudgment interest from September 30, 2019 until the date Judgment is

entered at the maximum rate allowed by law;

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 D.

Postjudgment interest at the maximum rate allowed by law;

E.

Costs and such other relief as is just and proper.

TRIAL BY JURY IS DEMANDED

DATED:

September 30, 2019

DEVIN G. NUNES

By:

/s/ Joseph M. Feller
Joseph M. Feller, Esquire
(Iowa State Bar No. AT0002512)
Koopman, Kennedy & Feller
823 3rd Avenue
Sibley, Iowa 51249
Telephone:
(712) 754-4654
Facsimile:
(712) 754-2507
jfeller@kkfellerlaw.com
Counsel for the Plaintiff
Steven S. Biss, Esquire
(Virginia State Bar No. 32972)
300 West Main Street, Suite 102
Charlottesville, Virginia 22903
Telephone:
(804) 501-8272
Facsimile:
(202) 318-4098
Email: stevenbiss@earthlink.net
Of Counsel for the Plaintiff
(Application for Admission Pro Hac Vice
To be Filed)

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