Fox news hosts and producers privately shared misgivings about former President Donald Trump’s false claims of fraud in the 2020 election despite their networks promoting his claims, Dominion Voting Systems alleged in a new court filing, the New York Times reports.
The newly disclosed messages are part of a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against the media giant; Dominion, an election technology company, is seeking damages from Fox News for airing conspiracy theories about voting machine fraud.
Host Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham, as well as others, disparaged Trump’s henchmen, including Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani in messages — casting doubt on claims that Dominion’s machines had rigged the presidential election in Joe Biden’s favor, according to the legal filing made public on Thursday. Dominion alleges that the network’s hosts gave Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani a platform to lie about the voting process.
“From the top down, Fox knew ‘the Dominion stuff’ was ‘total BS,’” the filing states, which cited excerpts from evidence collected in the suit. The nearly 200-page court filing includes text messages, internal emails, and depositions Dominion gathered via discovery from Fox News over the past few months.
Fox was the first cable news network to project Biden’s win in Arizona, triggering a slew of angry messages from Trump’s camp and a drop in ratings as viewers defected to conservative alternatives Newsmax and OAN.
Carlson texted his producer, Alex Pfeiffer, two days after Election Day 2020 warning that the network’s decision to call the state of Arizona for Joe Biden on election night would have severe repercussions for Fox News.
“We worked really hard to build what we have,” Carlson messaged Pfeiffer on Nov. 5, 2020 according to the filing. “Those fuckers are destroying our credibility. It enrages me.”
Pfeiffer responded that “many on ‘our side’ are being reckless demagogues right now.”
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“Of course they are,” Carlson wrote. “We’re not going to follow them.” He added that Trump was good at “destroying things. He’s the undisputed world champion of that. He could easily destroy us if we play it wrong.”
On Nov. 13, per the document, Carlson texted Pfeiffer that Trump needed to concede “that there wasn’t enough fraud to change the outcome” of the election, and later texted that Powell, one of Trump’s lawyers, was “lying” about having evidence for election fraud.
In another text exchange a few days later, as stated in the legal filing, Carlson repeated his concerns to Ingraham, writing that “Sidney Powell is lying by the way. I caught her. It’s insane.” Ingraham replied, “Sidney is a complete nut. No one will work with her. Ditto with Rudy.” Carlson responded, “It’s unbelievably offensive to me. Our viewers are good people and they believe it.”
The filing also alleges that Powell told Fox employees and host Maria Bartiromo that she relied on sources that made her unreliable. The suit states that before Powell’s Nov. 8, 2020 appearance on Bartiromo’s Sunday Morning Futures show, the “evidence” Powell provided to back her false accusations that Dominion manipulated the election was from an individual who described herself as “internally decapitated” and capable of “time travel in a semi-conscious state.”
Following a Nov. 19 broadcast of a press conference where Giuliani and Powell echoed their false claims that the election was rigged, Carlson went on his show to say that Powell had described “the single greatest crime in American history.” Yet Carlson also admitted that “she never sent us any evidence, despite a lot of requests,” and closed his show by expressing his hope that “Sidney Powell will come forward soon with details on exactly how this happened, and precisely who did it.”
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The broadcast received backlash from viewers, the filing states.
On Jan. 6, 2021 Carlson messaged Pfeiffer, and called Trump “a demonic force, a destroyer,” adding, “But he’s not going to destroy us.” Despite this, just three weeks later, the host invited his leading sponsor Mike Lindell on his show; Lindell proceeded to repeat Powell’s conspiracies on air, even previewing them for Carlson’s staff.
Fox, in a statement to ABC News, wrote, “There will be a lot of noise and confusion generated by Dominion and their opportunistic private equity owners, but the core of this case remains about freedom of the press and freedom of speech, which are fundamental rights afforded by the Constitution and protected by New York Times v. Sullivan.”
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In its motion for summary judgment filed Thursday, per ABC, Fox claimed that “statements Dominion challenges are not actionable defamation because Fox News’ coverage and commentary are not only not defamatory, but also protected by the First Amendment and New York doctrines emanating from it.”
By Nov. 12, the consequences of the accusations of the voter fraud narrative sunk in. In a message that day to Carlson and Ingraham, per the filing, Hannity wrote, “In one week and one debate they destroyed a brand that took 25 years to build and the damage is incalculable.”
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
