Devin Nunes announces swift legal action against CNN, Daily Beast for 'demonstrably false' stories

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, announced late Friday that he will file lawsuits against CNN and the Daily Beast for "demonstrably false and scandalous stories."

CNN published a story Friday alleging that Nunes privately met with former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Victor Shokin in Vienna last December to discuss digging up dirt on Joe Biden. The news outlet published the story after the lawyer for Lev Parnas — a Rudy Giuliani associate who was indicted on unrelated federal charges last month — told CNN that his client wants to tell Congress what he knows about the alleged meeting.

Earlier in the week, the Daily Beast published a story claiming Parnas aided Nunes in his European affairs, including setting up meetings and calls involving Ukraine.

Nunes told Breitbart News in a statement that the stories are the "perfect example of defamation."

These demonstrably false and scandalous stories published by the Daily Beast and CNN are the perfect example of defamation and reckless disregard for the truth.

Some political operative offered these fake stories to at least five different media outlets before finding someone irresponsible enough to publish them. I look forward to prosecuting these cases, including the media outlets, as well as the sources of their fake stories, to the fullest extent of the law. I intend to hold the Daily Beast and CNN accountable for their actions.

Nunes said the news outlets "will find themselves in court soon after Thanksgiving."

Interestingly, Parnes' lawyer gave CNN the story the same day that the New York Daily News reported that Parnas has attempted to curry favor with House impeachment investigators, offering up what his lawyer called "hard evidence" and voicing his willingness to testify.

However, the Daily News reported that House impeachment investigators, led by the Democrats, "have yet to take up Parnas' offer."