We've already seen some court filings released in Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, and now a new round has dropped—this time revealing intense feelings from Tucker Carlson against former President Trump. The Daily Beast reports that hundreds of pages of new internal communications among Fox execs, stars, and staffers, as well as deposition transcripts, were released Tuesday by a Delaware judge (read some here), and that Carlson's strong words on Trump especially stand out. "I hate him passionately," Carlson texted an unidentified staffer. "I can't handle much more of this." Carlson then added of the Trump presidency: "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 isn't really an upside to Trump." Other "key revelations," per CNN Business, from what the Beast calls "jaw-dropping" filings that suggest a "civil war" at Fox:
- More from Carlson on Trump: "We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly can't wait," Carlson wrote in a text on Jan. 4, 2021—two days before the Capitol riot.
- Murdoch on Fox hosts Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham: In an email to Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott the day after President Biden's inauguration, the Fox Corp. chair wrote, per the Guardian: "Is it 'unarguable that high profile Fox voices fed the story that the election was stolen and that January 6th an important chance to have the result overturned'? Maybe Sean and Laura went too far."
- Murdoch on a presser held by ex-Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani: "Stupid and damaging," Murdoch emailed a friend. "The only one encouraging Trump and misleading him. Both increasingly mad."
- Steve Bannon to Maria Bartiromo: The former White House official messaged the Fox News host, who was "so depressed" over the 2020 election results and wrote she wouldn't let her team call Biden "president elect," to tell her, "This process is to destroy [Biden's] presidency before it starts. IF it even starts."
- Carlson, Hannity, and Ingraham on everyone: In a group chat, the trio "took turns blasting the company's 'news' personalities"—including former anchors Chris Wallace and Leland Vittert—who'd stood up for the network's early decision to correctly call the 2020 election for Joe Biden, per the Beast. "Why would anyone defend that call," Hannity wrote, spurring Ingraham to write, "My anger at the news channel is pronounced." "It should be," Carlson responded. "We devote our lives to building an audience and they let Chris Wallace and Leland f---ing Vittert wreck it."
- More from Ingraham: In that same chat, the primetime host wrote that the three of them should "all think about how together we can force a change" and that "we have more power than we know or exercise."
- Fox's reaction: In a Tuesday statement, the company said, "Thanks to today's filings, Dominion has been caught red handed again using more distortions and misinformation in their PR campaign to smear Fox News and trample on free speech and freedom of the press." The statement added: "To twist and even misattribute quotes to the highest levels of our company is truly beyond the pale."
Much more
here and
here, including a text calling Trump attorney Sidney Powell "tons of crazy." (More
Dominion Voting Systems stories.)
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