It’s a day of reckoning today for #Infowars#ConspiracyTheorist#AlexJones, & a long-awaited culmination for the #SandyHook families who sued Jones for #defamation. A federal bankruptcy judge in Texas has decided that Jones must sell off his personal assets through a Chpt 7 liquidation in order to pay families nearly $1.5B in #damages for spreading #lies that the 2012 #SchoolShooting never happened.
"Citing the First Amendment right to “engage in political speech,” a judge has ruled that Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado cannot dodge a defamation lawsuit filed against her by political activists critical of her during her 2022 reelection run."
Jesse #Barrett is a trial lawyer & managing partner at SouthBank Legal. He heads the firm’s Washington, DC, office, which opened after Justice Barrett joined the high court.
…the SouthBank Legal website says #JesseBarrett “focuses on #WhiteCollar#criminal defense, internal investigations, & complex commercial #litigation,” it notes,…that he has “represented a prominent #media company in a lawsuit alleging #defamation.”
Most Americans see #MemorialDay as a time to pay tribute to the US service members who gave their lives for their country, or perhaps fire up the BBQ w/friends & family to celebrate the unofficial start of summer, or maybe save some money on a new mattress. Acc/to Google, a lot of Americans also make a point to look up what the “Memorial Day meaning” is. Then there’s Donald #Trump.
For yrs, #MAGA’s once & future king has made a tradition of celebrating major holidays — from Christmas to Mother’s Day to Easter — by launching CAPS-littered attacks on his perceived enemies. And if #Trump Googled the meaning of #MemorialDay on Sun morning, even the search engine’s bizarre new AI is unlikely to have answered that the holiday was about “human scum” or a good opportunity to rack up some more #defamation damages.
… #Trump wished a happy holiday “to All, including the Human Scum that is working so hard to destroy our Once Great Country,” before repeating attacks on the 2 NY judges who presided over cases against him & TrumpOrg this yr. Trump devoted most of the post, however, to once again defaming #EJeanCarroll, who a #jury ruled Trump sexually assaulted in a NY dept store in the 1990s, & who has 2X successfully sued Trump for #defamation, incl’g in Jan when a jury awarded her well over $80M in damages.
NYT Maggie Haberman then reported:
After #Trump, who arrived in NY last night, attacked #EJeanCarroll again on Truth Social today, her lawyer Roberta Kaplan says, "We have said several times since the last jury verdict in January that all options were on the table. And that remains true today -- all options are on the table."
#StormyDaniels testifies that her lawyer, Michael #Avenatti, filed a #defamation claim against #Trump against her wishes. She says she wished he had not done so because she felt it was too risky. (Avenatti, a risk-taker by nature, was sentenced to prison in 2022 for stealing from Daniels.)
Per Jonathon Swan: As Daniels was testifying about her defamation claim against Trump, the former president appeared for a while to be solidly asleep. #NodFarter
Alright, who’s ready to see #Trump get his just deserts? He fucked up the whole damn world & that’s not an overstatement.
PS #BabySquirrel & I had a lovely weekend. It’s as boy! (He’s developed discernible - stuff)
He is doing quite well! Name: “Ramone” because he’s a sweet little punk rocker.
the #civil#fraud finding that he misstated his assets; his 2 violations of a #GagOrder stemming from that case; 2 separate court findings of #defamation of #EJeanCarroll; & the dissolution of the #Trump foundation as part of a settlement w/the NYAG. The judge said he would not allow prosecutors to discuss in detail the underlying facts of those matters — but added a warning that could change.
This is really interesting. [Gifted article, NYTimes]: How a Case Against Fox News Tore Apart a Media-Fighting Law Firm
Tensions had been brewing for years inside Clare Locke, a top defamation law firm. Then came the biggest defamation case of them all. By David Enrich April 10, 2024
The fmr #RNC chair is in talks w/a prominent #mediatalent lawyer about potential #legal claims.
…McDaniel expects to be fully paid out for her contract — 2 yrs at $300k annually — since she did not breach its terms, acc/to a person close to McDaniel. That means that her single, not-quite-20-min interview Sunday could cost NBC >$30k per min, or $500 per sec.
While no arrangement is final, the person close to #RonnaMcDaniel said, Freedman would be an obvious choice: He represented Megyn Kelly in her own acrimonious parting w/NBC, as well as ousted anchors Chris Cuomo, Don Lemon & Tucker Carlson….
McDaniel… is exploring potential #defamation & #HostileWorkEnvironment#torts after #MSNBC’s top talent — momentarily her colleagues — took turns Mon blasting her on air. #NBC declined to comment about the $600k figure or her potential claims.
#StefanieLambert, a #Michigan lawyer who has championed dubious claims of election fraud, was arrested Mon afternoon because of a bench warrant, acc/to a spox for the #USMarshals Service.
Meanwhile, #StefanieLambert has also been representing businessman #PatrickByrne, fmr CEO of #Overstock, in a #defamation lawsuit brought by #Dominion Voting Systems. There was a hearing in Byrne's case in federal court in DC, at 3PM Mon. Lambert attended the hearing despite the warrant.
After the hearing concluded, all lawyers & observers, except for Lambert, exited the meeting room & #USMarshals entered.
An account using the name & photo of #Michigan#BarryCounty Sheriff lawbreaker & [#ConspiracyTheorist] #DarLeaf released >2,100 pages of emails from employees of Dominion; the company says Leaf improperly accessed internal msgs via breach of a #CourtOrder.
On Friday, attorneys for #Dominion filed an emergency motion in federal #court in Washington, DC, arguing in favor of a judge disqualifying Lambert from providing #legal help in the #defamation case, contending she had improperly shared w/ #DarLeaf confidential records, provided under a #ProtectiveOrder through document #discovery in the #lawsuit.
#StefanieLambert has been been charged w/ 4 #felonies for participating in a #conspiracy to obtain & analyze voting equipment used in #Michigan's 2020 election. Lambert is currently facing a bench #warrant for her #arrest after not showing up for a court hearing in Oakland County on March 7.
A hearing in #PatrickByrne's #defamation case is scheduled to take place Mon afternoon in DC. #Dominion's lawyers are expected to bring up Lambert's release of the discovery docs.
Trump argues that as a fmr president he has #immunity, & that the case is politically motivated, while #SpecialCounsel#JackSmith …has some choice language for those claims: “woefully short of the requirements … no evidence whatsoever … frivolous … so lacking in merit … no support in constitutional text, separation of powers principles, history, or logic.”
We’re also waiting to see if #Trump can put together a #bond for >$450 million to cover a #civil#fraud judgment against him & his namesake company. He faces a March 25 deadline to figure out the financing for the mammoth penalty. Last week, Trump secured a $91 million bond to cover the #EJeanCarroll#defamation & #SexualAssault judgment against him.
"The responsibility falls on the press to ask Trump and the campaign at every turn, until we get an answer, how the bond was obtained. If Trump did it with his own assets, he should be more than willing to bolster his financial reputation by saying so. If he’s unwilling to share details, that should raise red flags."
"But if someone helped him out, then Americans have a right to know who the all-but-certain Republican nominee for president owes $91.63 million worth of favors."
"New research into old business articles reveal that Evan Greenberg’s ACE Insurance, which became Chubb in 2016, 'does business' with his onetime Russian-bank-owning father’s Russia investment vehicle Starr International."
"Greenberg’s father—and longtime boss at AIG—Maurice Greenberg, is a Vladimir Putin business associate who has also associated, as discussed in detail below, with Russian spies, other Kremlin agents, and the 2016 Trump presidential campaign."
"Trump and Chubb have a history. In 2018, Trump appointed Chubb's CEO, Evan Greenberg, to a White House advisory council on trade policy. In April 2020, Greenberg was named by Trump to a counsel of business leaders advising the president on how to reopen the economy after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic."
"Trump is the presumptive presidential nominee for the Republican Party and, potentially, the next president. The public has an interest in knowing the financial entanglements of a prospective president. That is why candidates for president are required to file financial disclosure reports."