Dominion starts serving lawsuits

[ZiprHead]

Recent updates:

Judge says Fox News's parent company must face Dominion's defamation lawsuit because of Rupert Murdoch's alleged role in pushing election lies

Dominion argued that Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch "believed Fox News would benefit if it endorsed former President Trump's election fraud narrative."

news.yahoo.com

OAN can't dodge Smartmatic's DC lawsuit over election conspiracy theories just because its headquarters is in California, judge rules

One America News argued that because it's headquartered in California, it shouldn't have to face Smartmatic's defamation lawsuit in Washington, DC.

news.yahoo.com

 

[ZiprHead]

Judge says Fox News's parent company must face Dominion's defamation lawsuit because of Rupert Murdoch's alleged role in pushing election lies

Dominion argued that Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch "believed Fox News would benefit if it endorsed former President Trump's election fraud narrative."

news.yahoo.com

OAN can't dodge Smartmatic's DC lawsuit over election conspiracy theories just because its headquarters is in California, judge rules

One America News argued that because it's headquartered in California, it shouldn't have to face Smartmatic's defamation lawsuit in Washington, DC.

news.yahoo.com

 

[ZiprHead]

Judge refuses Lindell motion to dismiss suit brought by voting machine company

The complaint is one of a flurry of cases filed after the 2020 election by Smartmatic and Dominion against Trump allies and media outlets who have spread false allegations about the companies’ voting systems.

www.politico.com

A Minnesota District Court judge on Monday denied MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell’s motion to throw out a lawsuit brought by a voting technology company that claims he defamed it by pushing the false narrative that the 2020 election was stolen.

Smartmatic, a company that provided election technology and services to Los Angeles in the 2020 election, alleges in the complaint that both Lindell and MyPillow defamed the voting tech company by falsely promoting the theory that its machines had been hacked or rigged in favor of President Joe Biden. Lindell is a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump and has falsely maintained since 2020 that Trump won the election over Biden.


Smartmatic also alleges that Lindell, who has advertised promo codes for MyPillow products to viewers and listeners during TV and radio segments where he pushed the false narrative that voting technology was rigged in the 2020 election, used deceptive trade practices.

 

[ZiprHead]

Supreme Court allows defamation lawsuit against MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell to proceed | CNN Politics

Dominion Voting Systems' defamation lawsuit against MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell can move forward after the Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider Lindell's attempt to block the case.

www.cnn.com

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

Court chaos continues as right-wing True the Vote leaders are thrown in jail

The two leaders of the far-right group True the Vote have been hauled off to jail as of Monday afternoon, according to Votebeat Texas. Gregg Philips and Catherine Engelbrecht were told that until they follow a federal judge's order to identify the man they say is an FBI informant in a defamation...

www.rawstory.com

Here we go again. Right winged True The Vote is getting sued by a technology company called Konnech. Defamation.

 

[Gun Nut]

It is always a chance to take something to trial.

You get some lying Trump cult member on the jury and they don't care about truth or morality or justice.

How does that work in civil trials?

Suppose 4 jurors are Trumpist morons who vote to acquit,
4 jurors vote to convict but only give Dominion $1 million, and
4 jurors vote to convict for $1 billion. What is the net result?

It doesn't work that way. First ,there is a trial to determine if there was a tort. I there was, then there is a separate trial to determine payments.

 

[ZiprHead]

In Testimony, Hannity and Other Fox Employees Said They Doubted Trump’s Fraud Claims

On Wednesday, lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems shared some of the strongest evidence yet that some Fox employees knew what they broadcast about the claims was false.

www.nytimes.com

On Nov. 30, 2020, Sean Hannity hosted Sidney Powell on his prime-time Fox News program. As she had in many other interviews around that time — on Fox and elsewhere in right-wing media — Ms. Powell, a former federal prosecutor, spun wild conspiracy theories about what she said was “corruption all across the country, in countless districts,” in a plot to steal re-election from the president, Donald J. Trump.
At the center of this imagined plot were machines from Dominion Voting Systems, which Ms. Powell claimed ran an algorithm that switched votes for Mr. Trump to votes for Joseph R. Biden Jr. Dominion machines, she insisted, were being used “to trash large batches of votes.”
Mr. Hannity interrupted her with a gentle question that had been circulating among election deniers, despite a lack of supporting proof: Why were Democrats silencing whistle-blowers who could prove this fraud?
Did Mr. Hannity believe any of this?
“I did not believe it for one second.”
That was the answer Mr. Hannity gave, under oath, in a deposition in Dominion’s $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, according to information disclosed in a court hearing on Wednesday. The hearing was called to address several issues that need to be resolved before the case heads for a jury trial, which the judge has scheduled to begin in April.

Mr. Hannity’s disclosure — along with others that emerged from court on Wednesday about what Fox News executives and hosts really believed as their network became one of the loudest megaphones for lies about the 2020 election — is among the strongest evidence yet to emerge publicly that some Fox employees knew that what they were broadcasting was false.

This is gonna cost 'em.

 

[Bronzeage]

In Testimony, Hannity and Other Fox Employees Said They Doubted Trump’s Fraud Claims

On Wednesday, lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems shared some of the strongest evidence yet that some Fox employees knew what they broadcast about the claims was false.

www.nytimes.com

On Nov. 30, 2020, Sean Hannity hosted Sidney Powell on his prime-time Fox News program. As she had in many other interviews around that time — on Fox and elsewhere in right-wing media — Ms. Powell, a former federal prosecutor, spun wild conspiracy theories about what she said was “corruption all across the country, in countless districts,” in a plot to steal re-election from the president, Donald J. Trump.
At the center of this imagined plot were machines from Dominion Voting Systems, which Ms. Powell claimed ran an algorithm that switched votes for Mr. Trump to votes for Joseph R. Biden Jr. Dominion machines, she insisted, were being used “to trash large batches of votes.”
Mr. Hannity interrupted her with a gentle question that had been circulating among election deniers, despite a lack of supporting proof: Why were Democrats silencing whistle-blowers who could prove this fraud?
Did Mr. Hannity believe any of this?
“I did not believe it for one second.”
That was the answer Mr. Hannity gave, under oath, in a deposition in Dominion’s $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, according to information disclosed in a court hearing on Wednesday. The hearing was called to address several issues that need to be resolved before the case heads for a jury trial, which the judge has scheduled to begin in April.

Mr. Hannity’s disclosure — along with others that emerged from court on Wednesday about what Fox News executives and hosts really believed as their network became one of the loudest megaphones for lies about the 2020 election — is among the strongest evidence yet to emerge publicly that some Fox employees knew that what they were broadcasting was false.

This is gonna cost 'em.

One has to wonder what Hannity's rational would be for such an answer in a deposition. He could have said, "I was open minded", or some other non committal response.

I think this goes to the core of Trumpism and the main division of his base. There are those who believe the lies and there are those who think the lies are necessary to maintain power. Those who believe the lies are considered stupid by the liars and when cornered, a liar will admit to being a liar, before being lumped in with the stupid.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

One has to wonder what Hannity's rational would be for such an answer in a deposition. He could have said, "I was open minded", or some other non committal response.

Considering how things have been going for those who peddled the big lie I think he's just trying to save his skin by being honest. He's not going to endear himself to a jury or a judge by continuing to obfuscate and hedge. At this point he doesn't care who else goes down but he's going to try to save himself. He's reading the writing on the wall.

 

[Bronzeage]

One has to wonder what Hannity's rational would be for such an answer in a deposition. He could have said, "I was open minded", or some other non committal response.

Considering how things have been going for those who peddled the big lie I think he's just trying to save his skin by being honest. He's not going to endear himself to a jury or a judge by continuing to obfuscate and hedge. At this point he doesn't care who else goes down but he's going to try to save himself. He's reading the writing on the wall.

I don't think claiming he "knew all along" helps either his or Fox's case. The critical element here is "malice", which in this instance means stating something which is known to be false, or reckless disregard for the truth. Hannity just planted that landing with both feet.

This is a trial for civil damages, so this is all about money. In a criminal trial, after the conviction, the Judge may take the defendant's attitude into account when setting the sentence. A tearful sincere apology goes a long way.

That doesn't work for civil damages. The defendant's remorse, however sincere, cannot reduce the dollar value of the damage done by their actions.

 

[Patooka]

One has to wonder what Hannity's rational would be for such an answer in a deposition. He could have said, "I was open minded", or some other non committal response.

Simple. Corporate pulled him to one side and said, "If you don't want to be replaced and forgotten like we did with Bill O'Reilly, Eric Bollinger, Shepard Smith, Chris Wallace or Megyan Kelly, you will say exactly what we fucking tell you to say." How this helps FOX is obvious - they can argee that as a news outlet they felt obligated to present all sides of the issue regardless of the personal biases of their presenters. Whether that strategy works however remains to be seen.

 

[Bronzeage]

One has to wonder what Hannity's rational would be for such an answer in a deposition. He could have said, "I was open minded", or some other non committal response.

Simple. Corporate pulled him to one side and said, "If you don't want to be replaced and forgotten like we did with Bill O'Reilly, Eric Bollinger, Shepard Smith, Chris Wallace or Megyan Kelly, you will say exactly what we fucking tell you to say." How this helps FOX is obvious - they can argee that as a news outlet they felt obligated to present all sides of the issue regardless of the personal biases of their presenters. Whether that strategy works however remains to be seen.

As strategies go, I've seen better. It might work, if Fox had actually presented all sides. Hannity and Fox's immediate problem is there are many hours of video where he not only appears to believe the Syd and Rudy show, he openly encourages it.

The only one in the gang who still claims he has proof of election fraud is Mike Lindell. He's the only one who doesn't have to worry about being disbarred. Syd and Rudy have caved in the face of judicial sanctions. They could never produce the evidence they claimed to have. Their strategy from the start was not a true effort to prove fraud, but to create an atmosphere of suspicion of fraud. In order to do this, they attacked the common player in all state elections, which was Dominion.

This is a civil trial, so Dominion doesn't need conclusive proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Hannity's "...not for a second," provides a preponderance of evidence in Dominion's favor. Dominion has Fox's internal communications as a result of discovery. If Hannity shared his doubts with producers and other execs, it's just more fuel for the fire.

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

Bad news for Faux Noise

...
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York appeals court on Tuesday rejected Fox News’ bid to shut down a multibillion-dollar defamation lawsuit accusing the network of spreading lies that a voting-technology company helped “steal” the 2020 election from then-U.S. President Donald Trump.

A five-judge panel ruled unanimously against the network, host Maria Bartiromo and former host Lou Dobbs. They said they were simply reporting the news when they broadcast unsupported claims from Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell about Smartmatic USA. The claims were false.
...

NY court nixes Fox News’ bid to end voting tech firm’s suit

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York appeals court on Tuesday rejected Fox News’ bid to shut down a multibillion-dollar defamation lawsuit accusing the network of spreading lies that a voting-technology company helped “steal” the 2020 election from then-U.S.

apnews.com

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

Rudy and Faux get screwed by mean old judge.

....

• Rudy Giuliani has to face two more claims in Smartmatic's defamation lawsuit.
• An appeals court reinstated the defamation claims from the election tech company over 2020 conspiracy theories.
• The court also gave Smartmatic a shot at suing Fox Corporation, the parent company of Fox News.

Rudy Giuliani gets hit with 2 more counts in Smartmatic's defamation lawsuit

A New York appeals court also gave Smartmatic another shot at Fox Corporation, the parent company of Fox News.

www.yahoo.com

 

[blastula]

Fox News hosts called 2020 election fraud 'total BS' in private, new Dominion court filing says

Fox News hosts privately acknowledged allegations of 2020 election fraud were false despite the network promoting those claims, said a filing by Dominion Voting Systems.

abcnews.go.com

In mid-November 2020, host Tucker Carlson texted one of his producers that "there wasn't enough fraud to change the outcome" of the election, and later said that Sidney Powell, one of Trump's attorneys and a vocal promulgator of election denialism, "is lying."

Months later, on Jan. 6, Carlson called Trump "a demonic force, a destroyer," in a text message to the same producer.

Dana Perino, an anchor, called allegations of voter fraud against Dominion "total bs," "insane," and "nonsense."

In some cases, Fox News personnel raised red flags internally about their own colleagues. After host Maria Bartiromo tweeted about election fraud on Nov. 5, anchor Bret Baier pleaded to a network executive, "We have to prevent this stuff ... We need to fact check."

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

So umm... isn't this the point when these hosts start hoisting knives into their own guts in an attempt to deal with their dishonor? This is all out there now... officially, their own words. Yet, they keep their jobs, their viewers still absorb their shit through the TV. Brian Williams made a little bit of shit up here and there. He was put into storage for that. These people were actively lying on the screen about an election they knew wasn't stolen.

And the hyper-partisan fools don't even blink so these news commentators entertainers keep their jobs and relevance.

 

[ZiprHead]

Fox News hosts called 2020 election fraud 'total BS' in private, new Dominion court filing says

Fox News hosts privately acknowledged allegations of 2020 election fraud were false despite the network promoting those claims, said a filing by Dominion Voting Systems.

abcnews.go.com

In mid-November 2020, host Tucker Carlson texted one of his producers that "there wasn't enough fraud to change the outcome" of the election, and later said that Sidney Powell, one of Trump's attorneys and a vocal promulgator of election denialism, "is lying."

Months later, on Jan. 6, Carlson called Trump "a demonic force, a destroyer," in a text message to the same producer.

Dana Perino, an anchor, called allegations of voter fraud against Dominion "total bs," "insane," and "nonsense."

In some cases, Fox News personnel raised red flags internally about their own colleagues. After host Maria Bartiromo tweeted about election fraud on Nov. 5, anchor Bret Baier pleaded to a network executive, "We have to prevent this stuff ... We need to fact check."

Reportedly just last night Carlson questioned the results of the election again.

 

[Elixir]

Reportedly just last night Carlson questioned the results of the election again.

Prob'ly feels like he has to, to demonstrate that he believes the crap he serves up.
Ya can't blame a newscaster for being wrong, can you?

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

So the people who own and run Faux Noise still won't stop their on camera "talent" from repeating lies that they know are lies? Really!? Facing $1.6 billion lawsuits? Did we somehow just get transported to Bizzaroland?

 

[Loren Pechtel]

So the people who own and run Faux Noise still won't stop their on camera "talent" from repeating lies that they know are lies? Really!? Facing $1.6 billion lawsuits? Did we somehow just get transported to Bizzaroland?

Gotta get His Flatulence elected to put a stop to the lawsuit!