A US Republican congressman, Devin Nunes, is suing Twitter and a number of its users for $250 million (€220.2 million) in damages, accusing them of defamation and negligence. Nunes' suit alleges that Twitter "shadow bans" conservatives to try and make their messages less visible and that it failed to crack down on parody accounts such as "Devin Nunes' Mom" and "Devin Nunes' cow" — both of which are anonymous and accused him of obstructing investigations into the president. Shadow banning, as described by Trump and other conservatives, purportedly involves restricting the visibility of prominent US Republicans' messages on the social media site; Twitter disputes the allegations. Read more: 15 years on, is it time to #DeleteFacebook? The complaint highlighted many tweets, including one from the Devin Nunes' Mom account stating: "Are you trying to obstruct a federal investigation again? You come home right this instant or no more Minecraft!" Other tweets accused the lawmaker of having "white supremacist friends" and distributing "disturbing inflammatory racial propaganda." The suit said that Twitter was "knowingly hosting and monetizing content that is clearly abusive, hateful and defamatory." Liz Mair, one of the account-holders named in the suit, said on Twitter that she would not comment in detail as she was a defendant in the case, "but suffice it to say that I have a very different view on the applicable law (including the First Amendment) than Rep. Nunes." The First Amendment of the US Constitution guarantees free speech. 'You're fired' — Trump administration casualties Dan Coats Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats resigned from his post, which oversees and coordinates all 17 US intelligence agencies, in July 2019. Coats clashed with Trump on Russia, taking a harder line on Vladimir Putin than the president. He also contradicted Trump's assertion that North Korea no longer posed a threat. 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Although initial news reports suggested he had been "fired," he later said he had been notified of changes to senior security positions and that he resigned voluntarily. He had previously served as acting deputy commission of US Customs and Border Protection. 'You're fired' — Trump administration casualties Kirstjen Nielsen Kirstjen Nielsen announced her resignation as secretary of homeland security in early April 2019. She had previously served in other administration positions, including deputy White House chief of staff. Nielsen, a hard-line border security advocate, is best known for her controversial policy of separating children from their migrant parents at the US border. 'You're fired' — Trump administration casualties Bill Shine Bill Shine announced his resignation as White House communications director in early March 2019. The former Fox News executive may be leaving his post, but he's not completely out of a job. 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Kelly In December 2018, Trump announced that John Kelly, his third chief of staff, would step down at the end of the year. He had been brought in to establish order in the Trump White House but found the job arduous, and his relationship with his boss soured. The retired four-star Marine Corps general was replaced by budget director Mick Mulvaney, after several candidates turned down the job. 'You're fired' — Trump administration casualties Jeff Sessions Attorney General Jeff Sessions was fired in November 2018 after several months of abuse from Trump. Despite being an early supporter, he attracted the wrath of his boss early on by recusing himself from the Justice Department investigation into collusion. He was replaced with a loyalist who shares Trump's concerns about the investigation. 'You're fired' — Trump administration casualties Nikki Haley United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, one of the administration's few high-profile women, announced her resignation in October 2018. 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Nevertheless, Trump took to Twitter to thank Pruitt for doing an "outstanding job" at the EPA. 'You're fired' — Trump administration casualties Ty Cobb One of Trump's top lawyers in the ongoing special counsel investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election, Cobb said he simply wanted to retire. But many believe he was forced out by Trump and others in his legal team for his lack of aggression in Robert Mueller's Russia probe. Cobb was said to have been increasingly uneasy about Trump's Twitter attacks on Mueller. 'You're fired' — Trump administration casualties Tom Bossert White House Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert, who had worked for George W. Bush, was reportedly pushed out in the shake-up that occurred after John Bolton replaced H.R. McMaster as national security adviser. It is said that Bolton had no issues with Bossert, but that he wanted his own team in place. The White House thanked Bossert for his "patriotic service" and wished him well. 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'You're fired' — Trump administration casualties Rex Tillerson A former Exxon executive, Tillerson had served as secretary of state for a little over a year. Donald Trump ousted Tillerson in order to form a "new team" ahead of talks with North Korea, adding that he and Tillerson "disagreed on things." The relationship between them is said to have deteriorated after Tillerson reportedly called Trump a "moron" in October 2017. 'You're fired' — Trump administration casualties Gary Cohn A Goldman Sachs veteran, Gary Cohn served as Donald Trump's top economic adviser at the head of the National Economic Council. He helped push through controversial tax reforms in 2017. However, Cohn stepped down in March 2018 after failing to persuade Trump to give up his idea of imposing tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. 'You're fired' — Trump administration casualties Hope Hicks Hope Hicks resigned from her post as the White House communications director in late February 2018. A day before resigning, she testified before US lawmakers on Russian interference. She admitted to telling "white lies" for Donald Trump, but not related to Russia. The White House insisted her resignation was not linked to the testimony. The 29-year-old was among Trump's closest aides. 'You're fired' — Trump administration casualties Rob Porter The White House staff secretary handed in his resignation after his ex-wives accused him of domestic abuse. Despite resigning, Rob Porter denied the allegations as "simply false." Trump initially defended Porter, and the US media questioned how Porter passed his background check for the job. Recently, reports surfaced of a romance between Porter and Trump's longtime aide Hope Hicks. 'You're fired' — Trump administration casualties Stephen Bannon He played a key role in getting Donald Trump into the White House, but even chief strategist Stephen Bannon was ousted within a year. Bannon was a champion of economic nationalism and Trump's "America First" strategy. After the fallout of white supremacist violence in Charlottesville mid-August, Bannon agreed to leave the administration. 'You're fired' — Trump administration casualties Anthony Scaramucci The 53-year-old former hedge fund investor nicknamed the "Mooch" was communications director for just 10 days. The colorful New Yorker filled a dream role that had been vacant for months, but was forced out on the same day that straight-shooting former Marine Corps general John Kelly became chief of staff. Trump was displeased with his infamous expletive-laden rant against other senior staff. 'You're fired' — Trump administration casualties Walter M. Shaub Jr. Walter Shaub, the former director of the Office of Government Ethics, resigned in July 2017 after clashing with the White House over Trump's complicated financial holdings. Shaub reportedly called Trump's administration a "laughingstock." 'You're fired' — Trump administration casualties Reince Priebus Reince Priebus, former White House chief of staff, was forced out just six months into his tenure after a public feud with Anthony Scaramucci, the White House communications director. Priebus was reportedly among those West Wing staffers who had opposed hiring Scaramucci. 'You're fired' — Trump administration casualties Sean Spicer Sean Spicer, who had a fraught relationship with the president and the press, resigned after telling Trump he vehemently disagreed with the selection of Anthony Scaramucci as White House communications director.<doc-sep>California GOP Rep. Devin Nunes, who has opened a $250 million lawsuit against Twitter alleging that the social media company negligently failed to remove defamatory and malicious tweets against him and his family, told Fox News on Monday that the lawsuit will be "the first of many." Appearing on Fox News’ "Hannity," Nunes said he was going after Twitter first because they “are the main proliferator” of “fake” and “slanderous” news. “The case we’re basically making is this was an orchestrated effort. So people were targeting me, there were anonymous accounts that were developed … and these accounts are not supposed to exist. Twitter says that they don’t have accounts that do this,” he said. NUNES SUES TWITTER, SOME USERS, SEEKS OVER $250M ALLEGING ANTI-CONSERVATIVE 'SHADOW BANS,' SMEARS Nunes' lawsuit accuses Twitter and a handful of its users of "shadow-banning conservatives" -- including himself -- to influence the 2018 election by censoring opposing viewpoints. Acknowledging the role that Twitter plays in modern politics, Nunes accused the social media platform of “gaslighting” for all of the news and “proliferating” only the content they supposedly agree with. “And when they’re regulating us, they're regulating what people can see on my tweets – which they’ve done – and then they’re proliferating out things that they agree with the algorithms that they develop," he said. "They need to come clean. They’re not a public square. They are content developers.” Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testified before Congress last year that his platform is a kind of "digital public square," although he has insisted that Twitter, as a private company, retains the right to censor speech. TWITTER CEO: PLATFORM WAS PROBABLY 'WAY TOO AGGRESSIVE' IN BANNING ACCOUNTS Nunes, accused Twitter of a double standard, questioning why the company would allow certain accounts -- which, by its own terms of service, he said shouldn't exist in the first place -- to attack him "hundreds of times a day." "I guarantee you, if I put something out that was sexually explicit or attacked someone personally they would stop it," Nunes said. "They never did that to any of the people that were coming after me or other conservatives." Twitter did not comment on the suit when reached earlier by Fox News. Nunes' lawsuit alleges defamation, conspiracy and negligence, seeking not only damages, but also an injunction compelling Twitter to turn over the identities behind numerous accounts he says harassed him and deliberately interfered in his investigation as House Intelligence Committee chair into corruption and Russian involvement in the 2016 Presidential Election. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "This is part of the continuing Russia investigation. We're not going to just let all these fake news stories that were written about this investigation, about this hoax -- that were lies -- we're going to challenge every single one of them in court. We're just starting with Twitter," Nunes said. Fox News' Gregg Re contributed to this report.<doc-sep>
CEO of ADL: Seeing a 'blitzkrieg of anti-Jewish' acts across US 'Stay out': Fulton County official reacts to potential GOP visit during audit Dana Bash: This is so telling about where the Republican party is NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 24: Trump Tower stands on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on August 24, 2018 in New York City. Following new allegations over hush money that former Trump attorney Michael Cohen paid to an adult-film actress, the Manhattan district attorneyÕs office in New York City may seek criminal charges against the Trump Organization in the coming days. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Why GOP is standing in the way of Capitol riot investigation WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 08: US Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (R-VA) remarks on the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at the US Capitol November 8, 2006 in Washington, DC. Warner said he supports President George W. Bush's nomination of former CIA Director Robert Gates for Secretary of Defense. Warner said he anticipates Gates' confirmation before the end of the year. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), joined by Senate Assistant Minority Leader John Thune (R-SD) (L) and Senate Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO), speaks following a Senate Republican Policy luncheon at the Russell Senate Office Building on May 18, 2021 in Washington, DC. Hear what Matt Gaetz said about Paul Ryan before his speech Former GOP senator: If McConnell said this, 'it's shameful' 'Some people have no shame': Biden calls out GOP lawmakers with list Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) leaves while Senior Advisor Jared Kushner leaves meets with the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill July 25, 2017 in Washington, DC. / AFP PHOTO / Brendan Smialowski (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images) (CNN) — California Republican Rep. Devin Nunes is suing Twitter and three individual Twitter users, accusing them of defaming him in order to derail his re-election campaign and deter him from the Russia investigation. Nunes, an ally of President Donald Trump and former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, filed the complaint Tuesday in Virginia state court, seeking $250 million in damages and $350,000 in punitive damages. READ: Devin Nunes’ defamation lawsuit against Twitter, users who criticized him The California congressman accuses Twitter of allowing the users to spread “false and defamatory statements” about him, alleging that the company harbors a political agenda against conservatives. “As part of its agenda to squelch Nunes’ voice, cause him extreme pain and suffering, influence the 2018 Congressional election, and distract, intimidate and interfere with Nunes’ investigation into corruption and Russian involvement in the 2016 Presidential Election, Twitter did absolutely nothing,” the complaint says. The lawsuit was first reported by Fox News, which posted a draft copy of the complaint on Monday. CNN has reached out to both Nunes’ congressional office and lawyer. Twitter declined to comment on the lawsuit. Nunes named Republican strategist Liz Mair and two other parody accounts – Devin Nunes’ Mom (@DevinNunesMom) and Devin Nunes’ Cow (@DevinCow) – in his lawsuit. He accused Mair and the two other accounts of engaging in a “concerted defamation campaign” to “cause immense pain” and divert his attention from leading the House Intelligence’s probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Nunes pointed to several tweets that he said falsely accused him of federal crimes and includes vulgar language. “Devin’s boots are full of manure. He’s udder-ly worthless and its pasture time to move him to prison,” reads one tweet from Devin Nunes’ Cow. The Twitter account @DevinNunesMom was suspended after Nunes’ real mother complained, the complaint said. @DevinCow remains active and has gained followers since Nunes’ complaint was made public. The account posted Monday, “I’m not quitting my day job” in response to the lawsuit. Nunes has asked the court to reveal the users behind the two parody accounts. Nunes told Fox News on Monday that the lawsuit will be “the first of many.” “We’re actually going after Twitter first because they are the main proliferator and they spread this fake news and this slanderous news,” Nunes told Fox News. Mair, who has been outspoken against the President and in 2015 set up an anti-Trump super PAC called “Make America Awesome,” said on Twitter that she is “declining comment on this for now.” Nunes’ lawsuit also accuses Twitter of “shadow-banning conservatives” – where a user is unaware his posts aren’t viewable by others except him.