By: Paul Goldberg, Senior Editor | JRL CHARTS LGBT Politics USA
NEW YORK, NY — (August 5, 2025) — A federal judge has dismissed the high-profile defamation lawsuit filed by former U.S. Representative Devin Nunes against Rachel Maddow and NBCUniversal, dealing a major blow to the Trump-aligned Truth Social CEO’s years-long battle against MSNBC’s top-rated progressive host.
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In a 24-page decision handed down Friday, U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel ruled there was no evidence that Maddow or NBCUniversal acted with “actual malice” when reporting that Nunes had allegedly refused to hand over a package from a sanctioned Russian agent to the FBI. The package, from Ukrainian legislator Andrii Derkach, was referenced during a 2021 broadcast of The Rachel Maddow Show, with Maddow citing reporting by Politico.
Nunes, a prominent Trump ally and the CEO of Truth Social, sued Maddow and NBCUniversal in 2021, claiming he was defamed when Maddow stated on air that he “refused to hand [the package] over to the FBI.”
However, the judge determined that Maddow’s reporting relied on a legitimate source, and that her framing did not rise to the legal threshold of defamation for public figures.
“No reasonable jury could find that NBCU made the statement with constitutionally-defined actual malice,” wrote Judge Castel.
The court noted that Maddow and her executive producer Cory Gnazzo both considered Politico a reputable source, and that there was no evidence they knowingly disregarded the truth.
Court documents show that while Nunes and his team say they turned over the package the day it was received and even alerted then-Attorney General William Barr, those facts alone were not enough to prove “reckless disregard” for the truth on MSNBC’s part — the standard required under U.S. Supreme Court precedent for public figures like Nunes.
Nunes also alleged Maddow displayed bias, citing 36 different episodes where she criticized him by name. But the court rejected that argument, calling it “bare assertions of bias” with no evidence of malice tied to the statement at issue.
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The ruling also declined to impose sanctions on Nunes over spoliation of evidence, despite NBCUniversal raising concerns that he failed to preserve emails after leaving Congress in 2022.
Judge Castel’s decision effectively ends Nunes’ latest legal battle with major media — part of a broader pattern of litigation by Trump allies against news organizations perceived as hostile.
As of this report, MSNBC and Maddow’s representatives declined to comment.
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