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☆ Right-Wing Network Retracts False Story About Key Witness in Trump Trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Maggie Haberman | Katie Robertson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

One America News, a right-wing cable news network, on Monday retracted a report claiming that Donald J. Trump’s former fixer had been the person who actually had an affair with the porn star whose claims of a sexual relationship with Mr. Trump are key to his criminal trial. The retraction came after the fixer, Michael D. Cohen, hired a leading defamation lawyer to address the false report, which was posted on the network’s website on March 27. The lawyer, Justin Nelson, had represented Dominion Voting Systems in a suit against Fox News that cost that network $787.5 million to settle. Mr. Nelson worked with Mr. Cohen’s longtime lawyer, Danya Perry, in what was a remarkably quick about-face by OAN. There are no monetary damages, but the story is being removed from the website “and all social media,” the network said in a statement on Monday.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Michael D, Cohen, Justin Nelson, Nelson, Cohen’s, Danya Perry Organizations: America, Voting Systems, Fox News, Mr, OAN

☆ Far-right network OAN retracts false story about Michael Cohen affair with Stormy Daniels
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Cohen and Daniels are both key witnesses against Trump in his ongoing New York state criminal trial. Trump is accused of falsifying business records to cover-up the $130,000 payment that Daniels received so she wouldn’t publicly reveal their alleged affair before the 2016 election. Cohen hired veteran attorney Justin Nelson after OAN published the story last month. The little-watched network has regularly given airtime to baseless conspiracy theories, most prominently in the wake of the 2020 election. OAN still faces a separate defamation lawsuit brought by Nelson’s law firm on behalf of Dominion over its promotion of 2020 election lies.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Cohen, Daniels, Trump, wouldn’t, Cohen “, ”, Daniel, ” Cohen, OAN, –, Justin Nelson, Nelson, “, ” Nelson, OAN didn’t Organizations: CNN, Trump Organization, Trump, Smartmatic, Dominion Voting Systems, Fox News, Dominion Locations: New York, Arizona

The lawsuit is one of several that have been brought by groups of copyright owners, including authors John Grisham, George R.R. Martin and Jonathan Franzen, against OpenAI and other tech companies over the alleged misuse of their work to train AI systems. Sancton's complaint is the first author lawsuit against OpenAI to also name Microsoft as a defendant. "While OpenAI and Microsoft refuse to pay nonfiction authors, their AI platform is worth a fortune," Sancton's attorney Justin Nelson said in a statement. The complaint also said that Microsoft has been "deeply involved" in training and developing the models and is also liable for copyright infringement.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, OpenAI, Julian Sancton, John Grisham, George R.R, Martin, Jonathan Franzen, Justin Nelson, Sancton, Blake Brittain, David Bario, Aurora Ellis Organizations: REUTERS, Microsoft, Hollywood, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, Washington

☆ Two expelled Democratic reclaim seats in Tennessee special election
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Kevin... Read moreAug 3 (Reuters) - Two Democratic lawmakers who were expelled from the Tennessee legislature earlier this year after angering the Republican majority with a protest against gun violence won a special election on Thursday to serve out the remainder of their terms. Justin Nelson and Justin Jones both beat Republican challengers to reclaim their seats, the Associated Press reported. Both men won their primary elections in June with over 90% of the votes, and both are in districts that heavily favor the Democratic Party. Republicans who expelled the two men said their conduct disrupted the work of the House and that it was a severe breach of decorum rules. Democrats, including U.S. President Joe Biden who hosted the two men and Johnson at the White House in April, said the expulsion was undemocratic and disempowered their constituents in Tennessee's two largest cities.

Persons: Justin Pearson, Justin Jones, Gloria Johnson, Joe Biden, Kevin, Read, Justin Nelson, Jones, Pearson, Jeff Johnston, Republican Laura Nelson, Johnson, Jonathan Allen, Dan Whitcomb, Bill Berkrot, Michael Perry Organizations: Tennessee Democratic, U.S, White, REUTERS, Democratic, Republican, Associated Press, Republicans, Democratic Party, White House, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Tennessee, state's, Nashville, Pearson's, Memphis, New York

☆ JPMorgan bankers met with Epstein after his accounts were closed - WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Bank employees also met with Epstein after his accounts were closed to discuss other clients and introductions he could make to potential clients, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the meetings. The interaction with Epstein was typical for a client of the private bank, a JPMorgan spokesman said after the article was published. JPMorgan is being sued in Manhattan federal court by women who said Epstein sexually abused them, and by the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein owned a private island. JPMorgan did business with Epstein as early as 1998, and managed about 55 Epstein-related accounts worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Epstein was a client for about five years after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to a Florida state prostitution charge.

[1/3] Dominion lawyers embrace after Dominion Voting Systems and Fox settled the defamation lawsuit over Fox's coverage of debunked election-rigging claims, in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., April 18, 2023. At least 31 lawyers from nine different law firms worked on the case, court filings show. It was not immediately clear how large a share of the settlement the firm would receive in legal fees. The filings do not include recent costs associated with preparing for trial or the success fees lawyers could earn from the settlement. Fox News also hired Paul Clement and Erin Murphy, top appeals court lawyers who have advocated for conservative causes at the U.S. Supreme Court.

☆ Who won the Fox-Dominion case? Lawyers and an obscure private-equity fund
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

That remains true in the case of Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems, which averted a trial with an 11th-hour deal Tuesday. Money aside, Fox had to acknowledge the court’s ruling that “certain claims about Dominion” that Fox perpetuated on-air were in fact false. The Neutral-to-Positive Winner: Dominion Voting SystemsFor more than two years, Dominion spent untold amounts of money building a defamation case against one of the most popular TV networks on the planet. Davida Brook, left, Justin Nelson, second from left, and Stephen Shackelford, attorneys for Dominion Voting Systems, exit the New Castle County Courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware, on Tuesday. But for a company that’s valued somewhere between $30 million and $80 million, it’s quite a deal.

The voice on the other end asked Roscoe if he would serve as an eleventh-hour mediator in the massive defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News. “I said yes,” Roscoe told CNN on Wednesday, recalling advice his father gave him at the age of 16 about accepting work assignments while on vacation. Eduardo Munoz/Reuters/Eric Lee/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesIn the lead up to the last-second deal, attorneys for both Fox News and Dominion were fully expecting a trial. Last week, Dominion had notified Fox News that one of its first witnesses would be Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old Fox Corporation chairman, a person familiar with the matter told CNN. “Presence in the courtroom often tends to crystalize the focus of the risks and benefits of litigation,” Roscoe told CNN.

☆ What’s next for Fox and Dominion? More lawsuits seeking accountability for corrosive 2020 election lies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Wilmington, Delaware CNN —Dominion Voting Systems’ blockbuster defamation case against Fox News is over after the right-wing network cuts a check for a staggering $787 million, but there’s still an avalanche of pending lawsuits that are seeking accountability from the right-wing figures who championed false claims about the 2020 election. Smartmatic, another voting technology company, sued Fox for defamation following the 2020 election and is seeking $2.7 billion in damages from Fox and other defendants. Dominion still has a bevy of pending lawsuits against 2020 election deniers. “All of those decisions will have a huge bearing on those lawsuits as they play out,” Dominion lawyer Davida Brook told CNN Tuesday night. Dominion lawyer Justin Nelson added in a CNN interview that the Fox News settlement “sends a message to the other seven lawsuits that accountability is coming.”

☆ Judge privately said Fox News spokesperson should 'be nicer' after she 'ratted on other people' about courtroom conduct in Dominion case
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The judge in the Dominion v. Fox lawsuit criticized a Fox News spokesperson in a private conversation. He said she should "be nicer to people" after saying she "ratted on" others for tweeting in court, which is forbidden. She had taken photos of the courtroom on her phone, before the judge or any prospective jurors arrived. After leaving the main courtroom, Cronin went into the overflow room. After hours of waiting and what the transcript refers to as a brief "sidebar discussion held off the record," the judge announced Fox and Dominion had reached a settlement.

☆ Fox's $787 million settlement won't restore damage to US democracy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Fox News will pay $787.5 million for transmitting lies that a small voting technology firm helped steal the 2020 election. And Trump himself is facing several criminal probes related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the run-up to the January 6, 2021, insurrection. And is there any chance that Fox’s humiliation can repair some of the damage from the disastrous election aftermath in 2020? That missing moment of accountability will be important because claims that the 2020 election was corrupt are not some artifact of recent history. No single case can repair the damage of 2020The extent to which Trump’s falsehoods and conspiracy theories harmed democracy is open to debate.

On Monday, Fox News and its parent company Fox Corp (FOXA.O) head to trial over Fox's coverage of false election-rigging claims. Fox News had disclaimed that Murdoch was a company officer, which shaped how Dominion litigated the case, according to Nelson. As a Fox News officer, Murdoch would likely have been subject to more probing discovery by Dominion. A Fox lawyer told the hearing in Wilmington, Delaware, that Murdoch disclosed the title in a February deposition and he called the title "honorific." Superior Court Judge Eric Davis called the delayed disclosure "bizarre" and chided Fox attorneys for having made representations that Murdoch wasn't an officer of Fox News, only to reverse on the eve of trial.

WILMINGTON, Delaware, March 22 (Reuters) - Lawyers for Fox Corp (FOXA.O) and Dominion Voting Systems clashed in court on Wednesday over whether top Fox executives including Chairman Rupert Murdoch should be considered liable in the voting-technology company's $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit over 2020 U.S. election vote-rigging claims aired by Fox News. Dominion has argued that liability for the claims extends to the highest echelons of Fox. A Fox lawyer disputed the claim on Wednesday, arguing that executives including Murdoch were not directly involved in the allegedly defamatory television appearances by Trump lawyers, who falsely claimed Dominion stole the election. Dominion lawyer Justin Nelson argued that evidence amassed during the discovery phase of the case, including emails, shows that top Fox executives did not believe the claims but aired them anyway in pursuit of ratings. Dominion maintains that Fox knowingly spread false information or acted with reckless disregard for the truth, thereby meeting the "actual malice" standard necessary to win a defamation case.

☆ Fox, Dominion urge judge to rule in $1.6 billion defamation suit ahead of April trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

However, Fox and Dominion didn't close up their arguments on Tuesday and will meet in court Wednesday morning. (Trump's false claims of election fraud are at the center of multiple criminal probes.) Chairman Rupert Murdoch said some anchors parroted false fraud claims in the months following the election. Fox has consistently denied the claims it knowingly made false claims, and has argued it is protected by the First Amendment. These cases are often settled out of court or quickly dismissed by a court judge, but neither said has had such discussions, CNBC previously reported.

Murphy sought to provide context for the defamatory statements alleged by Dominion and argued that reasonable viewers understood that the claims aired on Fox News were mere allegations. The Fox News statements cited by Dominion included a Twitter post by former Fox Business host Lou Dobbs that included pro-Trump hashtags. Lawyer Justin Nelson answered no, saying Dominion's allegation is that Fox knew Trump's lawyers were going to make false claims but hosted them on its shows anyway. Abby Grossberg, who was head of booking for Fox News host Tucker Carlson, said coaching and intimidation by Fox lawyers before her deposition left her "feeling pressured not to name names or to implicate others, in particular prominent male on-air personalities and Fox News executives." Fox said in a statement on Tuesday that Grossberg's "allegations in connection with the Dominion case are baseless and we will vigorously defend Fox against all of her claims."

☆ Fox bosses ‘shut down’ fact checking with 2020 conspiracies, Dominion lawyer says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Dominion is suing Fox News over the right-wing channel’s airing of false claims of election fraud around the 2020 presidential election. Fox News argued that Dominion should instead rely on the “lengthy depositions” that these witnesses already gave. It claims Dominion hasn’t shown anything strong enough to overcome the high bar that the First Amendment provides, protecting good-faith journalists from speech-chilling defamation lawsuits. Dominion lawyer Rodney Smolla said its high-stakes defamation case against Fox News will protect the public discourse and hold accountable people who deliberately lied about the 2020 election. “They endorsed,” Murdoch said, referring to Fox hosts Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro, Maria Bartiromo, and former host Lou Dobbs.

☆ Dominion Voting attorney calls out Fox for missing evidence in defamation lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

While this issue was already raised in July and January, the Dominion attorney said Wednesday they are still missing documents. We pointed out categories of missing documents for both Fox News and Fox Corp that are still missing. Fox attorney Dan Webb, a veteran trial attorney added to Fox's roster last year, said he disagreed with much of what Nelson said during the hearing Wednesday. Dominion brought the defamation lawsuit against Fox and its right-wing cable news networks, Fox News and Fox Business, seeking $1.6 billion in damages. "We are put in this impossible situation of preparing for trial where there are missing documents," Nelson said.

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