--- title: Read the Tweets That Led Devin Nunes to Sue Twitter description: From Devin Nunes mom to Devin Nunes cow, the politician is suing Twitter for defamation. Read some of the tweets referenced in the lawsuit. canonical: https://time.com/5554340/nunes-sues-twitter/ author: Rachel E. Greenspan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-03-19T16:58:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-13T08:25:38.466Z og:title: Read the Mean Tweets That Led a Congressman to Sue Twitter og:description: One of the accounts is called "Devin Nunes' cow" og:url: https://time.com/5554340/nunes-sues-twitter/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt51c1bb0511fa5ecf/698946eb22fb854ad4e27f51/devin-nunes-twitter-defamation.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Read the Mean Tweets That Led a Congressman to Sue Twitter og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Read the Mean Tweets That Led a Congressman to Sue Twitter twitter:description: One of the accounts is called "Devin Nunes' cow" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt51c1bb0511fa5ecf/698946eb22fb854ad4e27f51/devin-nunes-twitter-defamation.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Read the Pointed Tweets That Led a Congressman to Sue Twitter > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=9f7802f5-b975-4e6f-b5c9-5ee1a56965b1&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: U.S. Representative Devin Nunes Is Suing Twitter for Defamation and Negligence [Watch (HLS stream): U.S. Representative Devin Nunes Is Suing Twitter for Defamation and Negligence](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/uA0aKk2B.m3u8) (0:57)  _Published 2019-03-19. Republican Rep. Devin Nunes (NOO’-nehs) of California is suing Twitter and several of its users for more than $250 million, accusing them of defamation and negligence._ by [Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Mar 19, 2019 4:58 PM UTC Republican Rep. Devin Nunes (NOO’-nehs) of California is suing Twitter and several of its users for more than $250 million, accusing them of defamation and negligence. by [Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Mar 19, 2019 4:58 PM UTC Be careful the next time you tweet something mean: You could be sued. Rep. Devin Nunes [has sued Twitter](http://time.com/5554021/devin-nunes-sues-twitter-defamation/) for defamation, along with a few users who have tweeted unfavorable things about him. The Republican congressman from California is seeking $250 million in damages, according to the [complaint](https://www.scribd.com/document/402297422/Nunes-Complaint-3-18-19). Of the people sued in addition to the social media platform, one is called “[Devin Nunes’ Mom](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/03/devin-nunes-sues-twitter-his-mom-for-250-million)” and another is called “[Devin Nunes’ cow](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/03/19/ridiculousness-devin-nunes-suing-devin-nunes-cow-what-it-really-signals/?utm%5Fterm=.6699452690db).” The former was suspended, but the latter is still live online. The third individual in the complaint is Liz Mair, whose company [Mair Strategies](https://www.mairstrategies.com/about.php#navbar), a communications and public relations firm, is also sued. The complaint says that the tweets violate Twitter’s terms of use, including abuse, hateful conduct and impersonation. The tweets referenced include a plethora of expletives — one of which is defined by Urban Dictionary in the complaint. In addition to the accounts directly sued in the case, the complaint explains that other accounts like “Devin Nunes’ grapes” and “Fire Devin Nunes” also existed. “The additional Twitter accounts followed the same pattern as @DevinNunesMom and @DevinCow, and published the same false and defamatory statements,” the complaint says. “Nunes was involved in underage prostitution, etc. Fire Devin Nunes published memes of Nunes in prison attire.” > [](https://twitter.com/LizMair/status/1017251733989453824) But, in spite of the lawsuit, “Devin Nunes’ cow” is not backing down. “I’m not quitting my day job,” the account posted on Tuesday. > [](https://twitter.com/DevinCow/status/1107813705440325632) While some of the tweets linked above that the complaint references contain expletives, here are some of the tweets referenced in Nunes’ criminal complaint. > [](https://twitter.com/LizMair/status/1010359462891327490) > [](https://twitter.com/LizMair/status/999407730220650497) ## Transcript [00:04] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5554340/nunes-sues-twitter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5554340/nunes-sues-twitter/"},"headline":"Read the Pointed Tweets That Led a Congressman to Sue Twitter","datePublished":"2019-03-19T16:58:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-13T08:25:38.466Z","description":"One of the accounts is called \"Devin Nunes' cow\"","url":"https://time.com/5554340/nunes-sues-twitter/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt51c1bb0511fa5ecf/698946eb22fb854ad4e27f51/devin-nunes-twitter-defamation.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rachel E. 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