A U.S. District Court judge has ruled in favor of veteran political reporter Ryan Lizza and the Hearst Corporation, dismissing libel suits filed by former Congressman Devin Nunes and his relatives. The judge determined that evidence gathered during litigation showed that the farm owned by Nunes' family employed numerous workers who provided names and Social Security numbers that did not match records from the Social Security Administration.
The case revolved around an article published in Esquire magazine, authored by Lizza, which claimed that the dairy farm run by members of the Nunes family had questionable hiring practices concerning undocumented immigrants. The plaintiffs argued this was defamatory; however, the court found enough supporting evidence to determine that these claims were essentially accurate.
In his ruling, the judge noted testimony and evidence proving that the farm received warnings about mismatches between employee information and official records but continued accepting expired credentials while failing to complete proper documentation to verify workers' authorization status in the United States.
During a deposition for this case, Devin Nunes criticized e-Verify – a system designed to confirm employees’ eligibility for work in America – as discriminatory and ineffective. However, he appeared on Fox News back in 2019 praising this same program's effectiveness against illegal immigration.
Nunes gained nationwide attention due to his usage of congressional committee powers to support then-President Donald Trump during investigations into Russian interference with U.S elections. He subsequently filed multiple lawsuits against critics such as Twitter account "Devin Nunes' Cow." In 2021, he resigned from Congress before taking up a leadership position at Truth Social – Trump's alternative social media platform similar to Twitter.
Steven Biss, attorney representing Devin Nunes along with other plaintiffs involved in this suit including his relatives and their dairy farm business declined commenting on recent developments regarding case dismissal.