#Dominion Lawsuit

[mysharona1987]

[rejectingrepublicans]

[reasonandempathy]

Tucker Carlson out at Fox News

Final show is tonight, April 21st, 2023.

I'll accept not having him testify if it means he's out from cable news. Still a good thing.

[moorheadthanyoucanhandle]

DOVE TALE

Again and again I find myself sheepishly admitting that Star Trek, as in the original series, is my all-time favorite TV show. It's a little embarrassing to acknowledge that, north of sixty years old, I keep going back for comfort and refreshment to the corny sci-fi show that I loved as a kid.

Worse yet, for all the show's sophomoric heavy-handedness and cultural chauvinism and ludicrous science and inconsistently applied social values, I keep finding relevance, even prescience in it.

For instance, this past weekend I watched the third-season episode, scripted by the redoubtable Jerome Bixby (also author of the story that became the Twilight Zone favorite "It's a Good Life"), called "Day of the Dove..."

You may remember it: Both the Enterprise and a crew of Klingons arrive at a planet, lured there under false pretenses by a powerful incorporeal alien Entity. Through a variety of mind tricks and matter transmutation, the Entity gets the Federation crew and the Klingons trapped together aboard the Enterprise, which is hurtling out of control on course to leave the galaxy.

Onboard, the factions are allowed their own turf, armed with swords--Scotty admires "a Claymore..."

...and psychically aroused to furious hatred toward their adversaries and even toward each other. They soon discover that the conflict between them is self-renewing; their wounds heal miraculously and the Entity allows neither side complete victory.

As a kid, I always thought it was a pretty cool episode. It had plenty of action, including swordfights, and the coolest and most badass of all the original series Klingons, Kang, played by the rumbly-voiced Michael Ansara...

...towering over Shatner...

It was also the only glimpse we ever got, in the original series, of Klingon women, notably Susan Howard as Kang's wife and science officer Mara...

In the course of the show Chekov, under the Entity's evil influence, attempts to violate Mara, although it looks like she could smack his little ass across the corridor with one hand.

Along with Chekov, Kirk, McCoy, Scotty and Uhura all get to work themselves up into highly entertaining angry lathers in this one. Shatner's in particularly hilarious, wound-up form here: "Look at me...Look. At. Me." And there's the great moment when the hysterical Scotty, responding to Spock's attempt to calm him, says "Keep your Vulcan hands off me," but it sounds like he said "Keep your f**kin' hands off me."

But watching it the other night, it occurred to me that this episode seems unusually relevant these days. I noticed this a few years ago about the second-season episode "The Omega Glory" as well. The theme, about the dangers of fetishizing and theocratizing America's foundational documents and other objects of patriotic regard like the flag, seems like a pedestrian, basic civics lesson. But it turns out that our society needs to be reminded of it regularly.

Similarly, with "Day of the Dove," the message might seem, at a glance, like the usual honorable but ineffectual Star Trek platitudes about the horrors of war and the bondage of bigotry and the liberating virtue of tolerance. But now, in light of the revelations from the Dominion lawsuit, it has a strikingly specific subtext. Because, of course, the reason the invading Entity is attempting to create this hellish eternal conflict on the Enterprise is that it feeds on violent hatreds, turning from yellowish-white to a happy shade of red...

...when it sucks up some delicious fury.

It creates false narratives in people's minds to stir up their bloodlust--Chekov claims his brother was killed by the Klingons; Sulu later explains that the brother is imaginary, as Chekov is an only child--and feeds both sides with propaganda to gin up enmity. Essentially, the Entity is a farmer, planting outrage so that it can harvest rage.

In other words, the Entity is Fox News, and the "news" media machine of which Fox News is the most successful and egregious example. I mean, isn't it, kind of?

In this context, some of Bixby's lines take on an extra resonance, as when Kirk speculates "Has a war been staged for us, complete with weapons and ideology and patriotic drum beating? Even...Spock...even race hatred?"

Or, when Kirk says "It exists on the hate of others," and Spock replies "To put it simply. And it has acted as a catalyst, creating this situation in order to satisfy that need."

Or, again, Kirk's desperate appeal to Kang, in the climactic minutes: "...and it goes on, the good old game of war, pawn against pawn! Stopping the bad guys. While somewhere, something sits back, and laughs, and starts it all over again."

In the end, Kang is persuaded, a truce is ordered, and the weakened Entity is chased off the Enterprise to hearty laughter from both sides...

Kang slaps Kirk on the back and for a second it looks like Kirk is going to pass out. A lovely moment; I would highly recommend it for our nation right now. But as the Entity goes flittering off the ship into space, it's all too easy to imagine it scurrying down to some TV "News" Network on some unsuspecting planet.

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

A defamation lawsuit is revealing scornful behind-the-scenes opinions by Fox News figures about Donald Trump, including a Tucker Carlson text message declaring, “I hate him passionately.”

Carlson’s private text comments were revealed in court papers at virtually the same time the former president was hailing the Fox News host on social media. Trump said he was doing a “great job” in presenting excerpts of U.S. Capitol security video of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection — though Carlson used the video to produce a false narrative of the attack.

The documents are coming to light at a time of increased tension between Trump and Fox, the dominant media force appealing to conservatives, as he campaigns to regain the presidency.

Voting machine manufacturer Dominion Voting Systems is suing Fox News for $1.6 billion, claiming the network broadcast false claims that the company was responsible for fraud in the 2020 presidential election. The case is to go to trial this spring, and a trove of documents related to Fox’s actions after the election are being publicly released in advance.

A common theme emerging from the internal documents and depositions is that Fox executives and hosts doubted the election claims being peddled by Trump and his allies, but aired and emphasized them anyway. Fox was growing concerned about a decline in viewership as Trump supporters turned away from the network after it — correctly — called Joe Biden the presidential winner in Arizona on election night.

The exchanges include Carlson’s text conversation on Jan. 4, 2021, with an unknown person, in which the prime-time host expressed anger toward Trump.

Carlson said that “we are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights” and that “I truly can’t wait.”

Carlson said he had no doubt there was fraud in the 2020 election, but that Trump and his lawyers had so discredited their case — and media figures like himself — “that it’s infuriating. Absolutely enrages me.”

Federal and state officials, courts, exhaustive reviews in battleground states and Trump’s attorney general found no widespread fraud that could have changed the outcome of the 2020 election, although Trump continues to falsely state that the presidency was stolen from him.

Addressing Trump’s four years as President, Carlson said, “We’re all pretending we’ve got a lot to show for it, because admitting what a disaster it’s been is too tough to digest. But come on. There really isn’t an upside to Trump.”

In another text exchange more than a month earlier, Carlson denigrated Trump’s business abilities: Trump’s talent, he said, is to “destroy things. He could easily destroy us if we play it wrong.”

Publicly, Fox viewers heard very different views, such as a 2017 exchange with colleague Greg Gutfeld in which Carlson agreed that Trump was “the greatest President that ever will be.” On his show in 2019, Carlson said Trump had fought as hard as he could to make sure everyone in America was treated equally under the law.

“You can say what you really believe in public,” Carlson said then. “You’re an American citizen. That is your right.” Trump could lose in 2020, he added, “but he’ll be a genuinely great President.”

Fox, in response to the court exhibits quoting Carlson that were released late Tuesday, said that “Dominion has been caught red handed using more distortions and misinformation in their PR campaign to smear Fox News and trample on free speech and freedom of the press. We already know they will say and do anything to try to win this case, but to twist and even misattribute quotes to the highest levels of our company is truly beyond the pale.”

Carlson has continued rolling out security video from the Capitol attack, footage handed to him by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. For that, Trump said on his social media platform, “congratulations to Tucker Carlson on one of the biggest ‘scoops’ as a reporter in U.S. history.”

The selective release of the footage to sway the historical account has drawn criticism, including from Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday called on Fox to stop spreading election lies, which he said was eroding trust in American democracy.

Fox’s founder, Rupert Murdoch, has a complex relationship with Trump: “I was not close to him,” Murdoch said in a deposition in the libel lawsuit.

Indeed, though Murdoch acknowledged talking to Trump occasionally, he said he also sought inside information from Sean Hannity, one of his network’s primetime hosts, because Hannity was the closest person at Fox to Trump.

Following Trump’s loss in November 2020, Murdoch despaired of the President’s behavior.

“The real danger is what he might do as President,” Murdoch wrote in an email to a friend that month. “Apparently not sleeping and bouncing off walls! Don’t know about Melania, but kids no help.”

But Murdoch told his network’s officials that he also didn’t want to “antagonize” Trump: “He had a very large following, and they were probably mostly viewers of Fox, so it would have been stupid,” Murdoch said in a deposition in the Dominion case.

In separate questioning in the case, Murdoch acknowledged that he believed the 2020 presidential election “was not stolen.”

On social media recently, Trump was critical of Fox when other court papers released in the Dominion case made clear that a number of the network’s executives and personalities privately believed the election fraud claims were bunk.

Trump and his team also have accused Fox of giving his latest campaign for the presidency little attention and favoring a potential challenger for the GOP nomination, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Fox and Trump have long had a complicated relationship. While he frequently has used the network to reach its audience, he also has been furious at a perceived lack of loyalty, most prominently after the 2020 election.

In a fiery speech at the Conservative Political Action Committee last week, Trump ally Steve Bannon complained that Fox had disrespected the former President.

“You’ve deemed Trump’s not going to be President,” Bannon said. “Well, we deem you’re not going to have a network.”

On Saturday afternoon, Fox News aired Trump’s speech to CPAC in its entirety.

[gwydionmisha]

Fox & Friends Cold Open: Dominion Lawsuit - SNL

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Steve Brodner

* * * * *

Dominion lawsuit against Fox News.

         After our brief foray into lovely Northern Ireland, let's return to the meltdown at the center of Trump's world, a.k.a. the Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News lawsuit in Delaware. Going into a major trial is like entering a blast furnace—weak points melt, debris incinerates, and all that is left is the unalloyed truth. It can be a painful process—and usually is. Unfortunately for Fox, in the lawsuit brought by Dominion, the truth is stacked on the Dominion side of the ledger, meaning that Fox News's case is going up in flames.

         Fox News and its attorneys have lost all credibility with the judge. On the eve of trial, Dominion continues to produce information from third parties that is in the possession of Fox News and should have been produced in discovery by Fox—but was not. See The Hill, Judge sanctions Fox News for withholding evidence in Dominion lawsuit.

         That is a very bad development for Fox on the eve of trial. The judge has appointed a special master to determine if Fox or its attorneys made deliberate misrepresentations to the court. And the Court has issued sanctions against Fox, requiring it to pay for additional depositions and discovery demanded by Dominion.

         Here's the point: Like Trump, Fox News assumed that it could get away with bending the truth because no one would hold it accountable. It now finds itself in a trial where truth matters, and representations to the judge cannot be treated like fact-free commentary from Tucker Carlson.

         It is a healthy process for the leadership of Fox to see that their disregard for truth and journalistic standards can affect the bottom line. Shareholders have now filed a lawsuit in Delaware against the Fox Board of Directors for breaching their fiduciary duty in failing to prevent the dissemination of false information. NBC News, Rupert Murdoch and Fox Corp. board members sued by investor over 'stolen election claims'.

         Whatever else happens, there is an internal reckoning occurring at Fox that will remove editorial control from the hands of Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch and put it in the hands of oversight committees, editors, and compliance officers. The Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit should have a positive effect on journalism in America, no matter the outcome.

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]

[makingdonalddrumpfagain]

[yamimichi]

Holy Poop!

[mysharona1987]

When you’re so obnoxious and abhorrent even the people at Fox News hate you.

[z34l0t]

[demdelis]

[muddypolitics]

(via Dominion Lawsuit: Undoing Fox News Damage to GOP 'Could Take Decade')

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

FOX NEWS WITHHELD AUDIO RECORDINGS IN DOMINION CASE: LAWYER FOR FORMER FOX NEWS PRODUCER

Gerry Filippatos, attorney for former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg, talks with Alex Wagner about how Grossberg recorded off-air conversations with members of Donald Trump's team, and the realization that those recordings hadn't been turned over by Fox News lawyers in the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit despite Grossberg handing over her phones on which the recordings were made.

AUDIO WITH FOX NEWS SHOWS TRUMP TEAM PRIVATELY ADMITTED LACKING EVIDENCE ON DOMINION CLAIM

Alex Wagner shares exclusive audio recordings made by former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg while she was a producer for Maria Bartiromo that show members of Donald Trump's team being less confident in private about evidence against Dominion Voting Systems than was being expressed on Fox and by Trump himself.

[ivovynckier]

Tucker Carlson this week on Fox News.

[worldofwardcraft]

It ain't over yet, mate.

April 24, 2023

Many people were disappointed when, just as the trial was starting, Australian immigrant Rupert Murdoch (pictured above telling Mr. Bond he expects him to die) settled the defamation case brought against him and his Fox News Corporation by the Dominion voting machine company. The $878.5 million Murdoch agreed to pay isn't enough, people said. And, true, it's a mere fraction of Fox's net income of $7-8 billion a year. But it's not nothing.

Some also feel let down because there wasn't a proceeding where Murdoch, Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson and other Fox miscreants would testify about their willful lies concerning the 2020 election. But since the judge previously banned recording devices from the courtroom, we wouldn't have heard their testimony, anyway.

Moreover, we already know what they were going to say. Their depositions, along with their emails and other internal company correspondence, have all been made public by Dominion's lawyers. The whole world now knows what kind of lowlife Murdoch is and what false and malicious propaganda Fox News spews out.

Murdoch's troubles, however, are far from over. He and his company must still face the defamation suit against them brought by Smartmatic USA, another voting tech firm, that's still wending its way through the court system. That suit, which additionally names host Maria Bartiromo, Jeanine Pirro and former host Lou Dobbs, seeks to take an even bigger bite out of Fox — $2.7 billion! And with the evidence already turned up by Dominion, they just might get it. Said their attorney Erik Connolley last week, “Dominion’s litigation exposed some of the misconduct and damage caused by Fox’s disinformation campaign. Smartmatic will expose the rest."

But wait, there's more. A bunch of Fox Corp shareholders not named Murdoch are demanding records, such as board minutes, emails and texts, which may contain evidence that Fox directors and executives were derelict in allowing the network to perpetuate Trump's election lies. And, according to Reuters, one shareholder has already filed suit against Fox chairman Murdoch, his son and CEO Lachlan, plus three other directors, alleging they breached their duties to the company.

When Rupert Murdoch wants to make something unpleasant go away, he usually just opens up the checkbook. In 2017, he (or rather his insurance) paid $90 million to settle sexual harassment accusations against Bill O'Reilly. And he shelled out $139 million over a London phone hacking incident in 2013. But no amount of money can erase the reputational damage this scandal is only beginning to cost him.