Dominion Voting Systems in doing America a great service by suing Fox News for defamation. Fox lies, blatantly and all the time-- all day and all night-- and has warped the minds of millions of Americans. No one ever does anything about it. Dominion's $1.6 billion suit, filed this morning, may help. In the suit Dominion states that "The truth matters. Lies have consequences. Fox sold a false story of election fraud in order to serve its own commercial purposes, severely injuring Dominion in the process. If this case does not rise to the level of defamation by a broadcaster, then nothing does."
Dominion asserted that Fox "falsely claimed in an effort to boost faltering ratings that the voting company had rigged the 2020 election. It’s the first defamation suit filed against a media outlet by the voting company, which was a target of misleading, false and bizarre claims spread by Trump and his allies in the aftermath of Trump’s election loss to Joe Biden. Those claims helped spur on rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 in a violent siege that left five people dead, including a police officer. The siege led to Trump’s historic second impeachment. Dominion argues that Fox News, which amplified inaccurate assertions that Dominion altered votes, 'sold a false story of election fraud in order to serve its own commercial purposes, severely injuring Dominion in the process.'"
This morning, just after midnight, the Associated Press sent out a widely published report on Trump defending the insurrectionists and claiming there was "zero threat" to lawmakers. "Trump complained to Fox News Channel’s Laura Ingraham that law enforcement was now 'persecuting' the Capitol rioters, hundreds of whom have been arrested, while 'nothing happens' to left-wing protesters... Capitol Police officers hustled lawmakers to safety when a pro-Trump mob overran the Capitol on Jan. 6. Some of the rioters carried stun guns, baseball bats and zip-tie handcuffs, authorities say, and more than 100 police officers were injured. Five people, including a Capitol Police officer, died in the melee." Ingraham, who owns a house in Alaska, is one of the right-wing goons Trump is talking with about running against Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) in the primary next year.
Trump's picture for Ingraham's brain-washed audience was one of naughty patriots "hugging and kissing the police and the guards. You know, they had great relationships. A lot of the people were waved in, and then they walked in and they walked out."
More than 300 people have been charged in connection with the riot. Authorities have said they believe at least 100 more could face charges.
The insurrection followed a fiery Trump rally outside the White House, at which he urged his supporters to “fight like hell” for him at the Capitol. A week later, the House impeached Trump for the second time, but the Senate eventually acquitted him on the charge of inciting the attack.
And, on cue, 7 House committees--Judiciary, Oversight, Armed Services, House Administration, Appropriations, Homeland Security and Intelligence-- just launched an investigation into the federal government's handling of Trump's attempted coup.
Pelosi wanted to handle the investigation under the aegis of a 1/6 Commission based loosely on the 9/11 commission but, reported Politico, "the plan snagged as Republicans demanded that the commission's purview expand beyond Jan. 6 to include left-wing violence. Republicans pinned the blame on Pelosi's draft proposal to give Democrats a numerical edge on the panel. Pelosi has said the structure is negotiable."