Watchdog Group Asks Congress to Investigate How Devin Nunes Is Funding His Lawsuits

A nonpartisan watchdog group is hoping to find out how Congressman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) is able to pay for the numerous lawsuits that he’s filing against the media and an online cow.

On Wednesday, the Campaign Legal Center sent a letter to the Office of Congressional Ethics asking them to “investigate whether Representative Devin Nunes is receiving free legal services in violation of the Rules of the House of Representatives.”

The group also noted, “House rules prohibit a Member from receiving free legal services, unless the Member establishes a Legal Expense Fund. According to the House Legislative Resource Center, Representative Nunes has not filed any of the required reports to establish an LEF.”

After noting that Nunes has been an especially litigious member of Congress, the letter reads, “There are three permissible sources of payment for [Nunes’ lawyer’s] legal services under House rules: a legal expense fund, campaign funds, or Representative Nunes’s personal funds.”

“Representative Nunes has not disclosed any of the required public reports necessary to establish that he has properly paid for the legal services using any permissible source.”

Nunes’ opponent took a swing at him over the CLC letter, saying, “While Devin Nunes pays for all these lawsuits, his ignored district is who REALLY pays.”

While Devin Nunes pays for all these lawsuits, his ignored district is who REALLY pays. https://t.co/QEyZQIzkPG

— Bobby Bliatout for Congress (@BobbyBliatout) February 26, 2020

Nunes has leveled a number of lawsuits — he is currently suing CNN, McClatchy and a Twitter account called Devin Nunes’ cow that frequently criticizes the California lawmaker. Nunes is suing the Twitter account for “malicious harassment, cyberbullying, stalking and defamation,” according to the CLC letter.

One of Nunes’ lawsuits — one against the Washington consulting firm Fusion GPS — was thrown out last week by a federal judge in Virginia. Nunes argued that the firm, which also produced the famous Russia dossier, targeted him after he questioned the veracity of the dossier.