Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) is suing the Fresno Bee over a story about a Napa winery he owns, but his lawyer’s effort to build his case against the newspaper is being mocked over quite a hilarious blunder.
You see, Fresno Bee reporter Mackenzie Mays covered a story about a winery Nunes owns that is embroiled in a scandal involving a yacht, prostitutes and cocaine. A woman sued the winery because she was stranded on the yacht during the illicit activities and she wanted no part of it. The winery settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed amount.
Mays is on solid legal ground because she used legal records as her primary source for the story, but Nunes is seeking $150 million as part of a frivolous lawsuit against the paper.
Ever since the story broke, the hashtag #YachtCocaineProstitutes has gone viral on Twitter, thus angering Nunes and causing him to throw a temper tantrum.
In an effort to make their case against the newspaper, his legal team attempted to use one of Mays’ tweets as proof of defamation. The problem is that they literally plugged in three words in an Internet search which automatically bolded the specific words in Mays’ tweet, something Los Angeles Times reporter Matt Pearce caught.
OMG — did Nunes’ counsel do a Twitter keyword search for this reporter’s tweet and then accuse her of bolding the words on Twitter?! https://t.co/qNAJL2Hk8R pic.twitter.com/a2qq0aS3UV
— Matt Pearce ? (@mattdpearce) April 9, 2019
bing bong pic.twitter.com/WMQO8yWuEF
— Matt Pearce ? (@mattdpearce) April 9, 2019
In short, Nunes cannot claim that Mays started the hashtag based on three random words in her tweet.
Pearce even went on to point out that the report even makes it clear that Nunes probably had nothing to do with the incident, and even points out that they tried reaching Nunes for comment.
Anyway, in seriousness, this story makes painfully clear — in numbing detail — that Nunes was a passive investor who probably had nothing to do with do with the company beyond being a passive investor (and he didn’t respond to interview requests anyway) https://t.co/Uhn1VYMQsv
— Matt Pearce ? (@mattdpearce) April 9, 2019
Twitter users, however, had a field day with Nunes’ incompetence.
So wait, @DevinNunes lawyers, either on their own or at his suggestion, faked evidence? Such a loser. #YachtCocaineProstitutes https://t.co/q9jxNGiG1S
— Bo Wisneski (@BoWisneski) April 9, 2019
OMG Devin Nunes lawyers are just as stupid as he is ??? https://t.co/Y3waisUJmF
— Polly Sigh (@dcpoll) April 9, 2019
Good God. Anyone who uses Twitter knows you CANNOT BOLD ANYTHING. The only way to place emphasis on anything is ALL CAPS.
— JW (@jswebster) April 9, 2019
Judge: Mr Nunes do you in fact own the winery?
N: Y
J: Did the woman sue?
N: Y
J: Get out of my courtroom , weasel face.— Mike Bridgman (@terpsfan3040) April 9, 2019
Devin Nunes’ lawyer: proving once more that @DevinNunes is probably the world’s dumbest fuck-nugget. I mean, Devin is INCREDIBLY STUPID. I’ve met rocks less ignorant than him. Looking forward to having him subsidize my @FresnoBee subscription when he pays McClatchy’s fees! https://t.co/DwoiRfFxyi
— NHRGrumpyLaw (@NHRGRUMPYLAW) April 9, 2019
So @DevinNunes and his lawyers are too stupid to know you can’t bld words in your tweets? https://t.co/O0f0y1KG2R
— Isobel Carr (@IsobelCarr) April 9, 2019
This lawsuit will not end well for @DevinNunes. No one should cover his frivolous lawsuits without putting them in proper context. https://t.co/EsfIwgVfZT
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) April 9, 2019
lmao, Devin Nunes is an idiot and apparently, so are his lawyers https://t.co/mm3cC2Ueb9
— Tommy (@TSmithRV) April 9, 2019
The courts are likely going to laugh Nunes out of court. He is already trying to sue Twitter for not censoring parody accounts that mock him, and his lawsuits are only making things worse for him because those accounts have even more likes than they originally had.
Twitter and the Fresno Bee should file a counter lawsuit seeking damages. Maybe then Nunes will learn his lesson about free speech and filing ridiculous lawsuits.
Featured Image: Wikimedia