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Fox Agrees to Pay $787.5 Million to Dominion

The defamation lawsuit Dominion Voting Systems brought against Fox News settled today with a whopping $787.5 million to be paid by Fox.

The settlement came right after the jury panel had been selected. What's curious is that this case didn't settle earlier. Few big defamation cases go to trial. [More...]

Fox News will not have to admit that it broadcast false claims on network programming. Nor will it have to apologize.

Dominion still has other claims in the hopper, including those against Rudy Giuliani, Mike Lindell (the Pillow Man), and Newsmax.

Is this a case of "the truth matters" or lawyers having a field day because Money Talks, Everybody Walks (Away Happy)?

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  • Display: Sort:
    The judge found as a fact that Fox lied (5.00 / 1) (#7)
    by Peter G on Tue Apr 18, 2023 at 06:52:29 PM EST
    and knew it was lying, and Fox's lawyers eventually admitted this in court, didn't they? Can't wait for someone to tell me (because I won't watch) how Fox covers this for its viewers.

    As Rachel Maddow advises us, ... (none / 0) (#17)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Apr 24, 2023 at 01:43:42 PM EST
    ... "Don't listen to what they say; watch instead what they do."

    This morning, Fox News abruptly announced that Tucker Carlson is leaving the network, effective immediately. He had signed off on what proved to be his final Fox News show last Friday as he did every week with the words, "That's it for this week; we'll be back." This indicates that his departure from the network was probably not his idea, nor was it necessarily by mutual agreement. He was summarily terminated.

    Given the clearly rough legal seas ahead for the network, Fox Corp. likely recognizes the necessity to undertake a significant institutional reform effort at its subsidiary Fox News. That probably means cleaning house, rethinking its business model and reconsidering its longstanding alliances. Carlson had clearly become a liability.

    Spinning the network off and finding a buyer to take it of its hands is problematic at this point, given the massive amount of potential liability still on the table. So, it's either a wholesale remodeling or they close its doors and shut down.

    In that regard, tucker Carlson is probably not the last Fox News personality to depart or be terminated. I would also imagine that network CEO Suzanne Scott will also be joining them in the unemployment queue.

    Curiously and coincidentally, CNN also fired primetime anchor Don Lemon today. In that regard, his big mouth and ego had become a major distraction and headache for the network.

    Some journalists let fame go to their heads as their profiles are elevated for whatever reason (see "Cuomo, Chris" and "O'Reilly, Bill"), and they think their celebrity inoculates them from consequences of their professional and private behavior.

    Carlson and Lemon learned otherwise today.

    Parent

    More trouble for the FOX (5.00 / 1) (#8)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Apr 19, 2023 at 09:00:45 AM EST

    Fox Shareholders Move Towards Suing Directors
    April 19, 2023 at 8:54 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 64 Comments

    Fox Corp shareholders are demanding company records that may show whether directors and executives properly oversaw Fox News' coverage of Donald Trump's election-rigging claims, Reuters reports.

    Trouble Comin Every Day

    It seems (5.00 / 2) (#9)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Apr 19, 2023 at 04:03:22 PM EST
    they are going to get slammed by everybody who was harmed by the big lie. I understand the two women election workers here in GA are also suing Fox.

    Parent
    As well they should. (5.00 / 2) (#18)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Apr 24, 2023 at 02:12:19 PM EST
    The mother in particular was simply fulfilling what she saw as her civic obligation, and both she and her daughter were subjected to hellacious treatment at the hands of the MAGAbotniks. The daughter effectively lost her job, having to quit because of the vicious harassment and threats she incurred. I hope a jury gives them every penny of their requests for damages, and then some more for good measure.

    Parent
    The Tucker channel (5.00 / 2) (#27)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Apr 29, 2023 at 10:48:21 AM EST
    Why not?

    Newsmax Makes Full Court Press for Tucker Carlson

    April 29, 2023 at 11:32 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 11 Comments

    Newsmax "is doing everything it can to sweeten the deal" for Tucker Carlson to join the fledgling network -- "including floating the idea of letting him program the whole channel, not just his own show," TMZ reports.

    But there is a fly in the ointment.  FOX has Tuckems under contract until after the 24 election and afaik they don't plan to release him.

    This is funny because it's exactly what Disney threatened us with back in the day when we were fighting for union benefits.  
    If we didn't work for them we didn't work for the duration of our three year contracts

    We made them eat it.

    I'll take (none / 0) (#1)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Apr 18, 2023 at 04:56:14 PM EST
    both

    So (none / 0) (#2)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Apr 18, 2023 at 04:58:53 PM EST
    "see you at the next one" you think is Rudy or Pillow guy.  
    I thought NEWSMAX already did their public apology.

    Parent
    Somehow, this feels very... (none / 0) (#3)
    by desertswine on Tue Apr 18, 2023 at 05:17:03 PM EST
    unsatisfying.

    Definitely (none / 0) (#4)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Apr 18, 2023 at 05:36:06 PM EST
    Strangely like Trumps no mustard indictment.   But both have lots more to come.

    Renato Mariotti just said Dominion has more issues for FOX.   So maybe not even just SmartMatic.

    Parent

    Now (5.00 / 3) (#10)
    by FlJoe on Thu Apr 20, 2023 at 10:25:43 AM EST
    this  little morsel is strangely satisfying
    MyPillow founder and prominent election denier Mike Lindell made a bold offer ahead of a "cyber symposium" he held in August 2021 in South Dakota: He claimed he had data showing Chinese interference and said he would pay $5 million to anyone who could prove the material was not from the previous year's U.S. election.

    He called the challenge "Prove Mike Wrong."

    On Wednesday, a private arbitration panel ruled that someone had.

    The panel said Robert Zeidman, a computer forensics expert and 63-year-old Trump voter from Nevada, was entitled to the $5 million payout.



    Parent
    This is so good (5.00 / 1) (#11)
    by MO Blue on Thu Apr 20, 2023 at 12:55:10 PM EST
    Glad Zeidman can cash in on Lindell's lies.

    Parent
    Maybe (none / 0) (#5)
    by KeysDan on Tue Apr 18, 2023 at 06:04:24 PM EST
    we all had unrealistic cpectations.  This was a civil suit and the award was money, in this case a lot of money.  The goal of Dominion was money damages, and they got that.  And, gpthey guarded and defended their reputation necessary for future business.   As a business, any democratic benefits are icing on their money cake.

    Parent
    Smartmatic is next (none / 0) (#6)
    by Repack Rider on Tue Apr 18, 2023 at 06:49:56 PM EST
    They have all the same evidence and the same complaint.

    There is no bottom (none / 0) (#12)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 21, 2023 at 12:13:02 PM EST

    Trump Operatives Mulled Using Breached Voting Data
    April 21, 2023 at 12:58 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 6 Comments

    "In mid-January 2021, two men hired by former President Donald Trump's legal team discussed over text message what to do with data obtained from a breached voting machine in a rural county in Georgia, including whether to use it as part of an attempt to decertify the state's pending Senate runoff results," CNN reports.

    "The texts, sent two weeks after operatives breached a voting machine in Coffee County, Georgia, reveal for the first time that Trump allies considered using voting data not only to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, but also in an effort to keep a Republican hold on the US Senate."



    So, tampering with voting machines (5.00 / 1) (#13)
    by jondee on Fri Apr 21, 2023 at 01:52:32 PM EST
    and at the behest of Sidney, who in turn was inspired by texts from a self-described divinely-inspired headless ghost.

    Paddy Cheyevsky couldn't have dreamed up these lunatics.

    On what planet is "breaching" voting machines legal and why aren't arrests immediately being made?

    Parent

    The GBI (none / 0) (#14)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Apr 21, 2023 at 02:35:31 PM EST
    is supposed to be looking into this I think. There was another case in Douglas County with someone taking people into a secured facility with voting machines.

    Yeah, there's no bottom.

    Parent

    Is it because it's Georgia (none / 0) (#15)
    by jondee on Sat Apr 22, 2023 at 05:06:46 PM EST
    that they're moving so slowly on this?

    Parent
    I have no idea (5.00 / 1) (#16)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Apr 24, 2023 at 08:07:44 AM EST
    but GA has this two-tiered Grand Jury system where you have one GJ for investigation and 1 for indictments. So the process can be doubled in time. Right now supposedly the indictment GJ is hearing evidence that was gathered by the investigative GJ. The investigative GJ can recommend indictments but can't issue them.

    Parent
    July to September (none / 0) (#19)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Apr 24, 2023 at 04:20:05 PM EST
    No idea why it's going to take another 2 or 3 months but I guess it's something

    EXCLUSIVE: DA says indictment announcement coming this summer in Trump probe



    Parent

    The (none / 0) (#20)
    by FlJoe on Mon Apr 24, 2023 at 04:38:57 PM EST
    waiting is the hardest part.

    Parent
    One reason (none / 0) (#21)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Apr 24, 2023 at 06:02:30 PM EST
    is there are ten fake electors represented by one attorney. Willis offered plea deals to couple of these and their attorney did not tell them of the plea deals. Glenn Kirschner said that is a big deal. And probably why things have been moved out so much.

    Parent
    The brazenness is kind of mind-boggling (5.00 / 1) (#22)
    by jondee on Tue Apr 25, 2023 at 04:50:19 PM EST
    apparently the self-proclaimed electors signed a false statement claiming that they were "duly elected."

    You could say a lot of the Jan 6th yahoos were inflamed, misinformed, mislead etc but what is these bogus elector's excuse?

    Parent

    ... who really should have known better although, given the caliber of GOP elected officials these days, perhaps I'm giving them too much credit.

    Parent
    I don't (none / 0) (#23)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Apr 26, 2023 at 08:02:29 AM EST
    know because they definitely were not "misinformed" if you look at the list. One owns a chain of Honda dealerships in Metro Atlanta. Others are elected GOP officials. My personal opinion is they would do anything to cling to power & they will do anything in the future to cling to power. Conservatives are autocrats at heart who believe they are the only legitimate leaders and then you can add God into the equation and they believe they were anointed by God to be leaders. Therefore anything they do is ordained by God. It's crazy evangelical crap but it's there.

    Parent
    As I understand, the current grand jury ... (none / 0) (#24)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Apr 28, 2023 at 09:12:16 PM EST
    ... is about to run its course. The next one convenes in July. That's likely the one D.A. Willis is going to us for charging, which I do believe at this point is - just as she said - "inevitable."

    Parent
    I believe Fani Willis (none / 0) (#26)
    by KeysDan on Fri Apr 28, 2023 at 09:59:02 PM EST
    used the word "imminent".  

    Parent
    Third in the line of succession (none / 0) (#28)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed May 03, 2023 at 04:37:42 PM EST

    Tucker Carlson Said He Got McCarthy the Votes

    May 3, 2023 at 4:53 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 44 Comments

    "Tucker Carlson extracted concessions from Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California that cinched the votes he needed from far-right members to Congress to become Speaker of the House of Representatives," the former Fox News host said in text messages obtained by Insider.

    "The text messages demonstrate how Carlson shaped the direction of the Republican party behind the scenes, using his powerful primetime perch at Fox News before his firing last month to make one of the most powerful elected Republicans in America do his bidding."