Devin Nunes Can’t Sue Twitter Over Fake Cow Account, Judge Rules
Nunes alleged he won election by a narrower margin than he would have because anonymous Twitter accounts made fun of him.

Erin Schaff/Reuters
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) cannot sue Twitter for defamation over parody accounts pretending to be his mother and a cow on his family ranch, a judge has ruled. Judge John Marshall wrote that Twitter was not the publisher of the remarks in question and therefore was protected by federal law stating that social media companies are not liable for posts by users, a provision President Donald Trump has advocated against and Nunes argued did not apply. Nunes originally filed suit in March 2019 against Twitter, the accounts @DevinCow, @NunesAlt (which pretends to be run by his mother), and Republican strategist Liz Mair for causing him to win re-election by a narrower margin than he would have had they not poked fun at him. Marshall’s ruling removes Twitter as a defendant from the case. The other three remain. Twitter said in a statement that it “strongly believes the court made the right decision today.”
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.