Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, denied “fake news” reports that he met with former Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin to obtain information that would compromise former Vice President Joe Biden.
“We’re also going to be working with the appropriate law enforcement authorities because it is not okay to work with someone who has been indicted on serious federal crime to build a media narrative and dirty up a member of Congress. You’ve seen it, the American people have seen it over the last three years,” he said.
CNN and the Daily Beast both alleged that Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Guiliani who was indicted on unrelated charges, helped Nunes with matters in Ukraine when he investigated Ukraine’s alleged interference in the 2016 election on behalf of Democrats. The CNN report, namely, said that he met with Shokin, a former prosecutor who Biden pushed to have fired, in Vienna, Austria.
He added: “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. They will find themselves in court soon after Thanksgiving.”
Nunes said that he is filing a lawsuit because he cannot “compete against the media,” Fox reported
“Because this is criminal in nature and because it’s so bad, it’s so slanderous, we’ve got all the facts on our side, and we’re going to file in federal court because I’m not going to sit here and try to compete against the media that I have no chance of winning this. I will win in court, and they’ll have a chance to cooperate, and they’ll have to show how they work with somebody who has been indicted, which is likely conspiring to obstruct justice here,” he said.
Without elaborating, Nunes said he believes the two news outlets engaged in criminal activity.
“The sad part is, I’m the last guy that wants to go into the courts, but the media has become [so] totally corrupt that now they’re willing to actually engage and help with criminals, indicted criminals. These people are sick, and the only way they’re going to be held accountable is through the court system. And It’s the only chance I have to actually get the facts out for the American people because they can’t lie to a court,” he told Fox News.
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