Devin Nunes lawsuits are confusing fellow Republicans

WASHINGTON – Republicans who typically support Rep. Devin Nunes are less willing to speak up for him since he filed a lawsuit against one of his own constituents.

The lawsuit is Nunes’ third in which he alleges that political consultants conspired against him to damage his chances for reelection last year. Nunes, R-calif., won the race against Democratic challenger Andrew Janz, but by a closer margin than in his previous campaigns.

The previous two cases targeted social media giant Twitter and Mcclatchy. They also named Liz Mair, a Republican political strategist.

The new case names four California residents, one of whom is Paul Buxman, a retired farmer who says he voted for Nunes in the past.

Critics of Nunes, who is one of about three dozen House Republicans being targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, were quick to seize on the difference between suing corporations and suing a retired constituent.

“He has filed lawsuits against his own constituents,” Phil Arballo, a Democratic businessman planning to challenge Nunes in 2020, said in a speech in front of Nunes’ district office Tuesday. “Let me repeat, a sitting member of Congress is suing his own constituents. This is outrageous, Rep. Nunes is unhinged.”

Even some of those within Nunes’ own party are unwilling to defend his latest move. Half a dozen California Republicans – most of whom have defended Nunes in the past – contacted by Mcclatchy either did not return a request for comment or outright said they would not comment on the issue.

Two Republican consultants who have managed political campaigns in the San Joaquin Valley, Kevin Spillane and Carl Fogliani, were willing to speak on the record, both saying they were confused by Nunes’ tactics.

“There seems to be no strategy other than to attack his enemies,” Spillane said. “He should focus on working his district and stay out of the politics of Washington, D.C.”

Asked if these lawsuits helped further the perception that Nunes had become less concerned with his district – a frequent criticism of Nunes by Democrats – Spillane said, “Well, I don’t think it helps him.”

Nunes in the lawsuit charges that Democratic political groups used “dark money” to contest Nunes’ description of himself as a farmer on ballots that went to California voters.

Nunes in the lawsuit also accuses a Democratic group called Campaign for Accountability of publishing emails by his wife, a schoolteacher in the district, which lead to the harassment of her and other co-workers.

Fogliani was more supportive of Nunes, saying he had “never seen anything like this.” He speculated that Nunes was likely motivated by the Democratic group targeting his wife.

“Besides that, all this seems within the confines of what campaigns usually entail, but you mess with the bull then you get the horns,” Fogliani said. “But yeah, I don’t know what there is to gain here.”