Fox News is — or at least was during his tenure — synonymous with “Pro-Donald Trump propaganda channel.” The interviews that Sean Hannity & Co. with the ex-president were so submissive they caused violent cringes in viewers who aren’t die-hard Trump fans. In the morning show Fox & Friends, the ex-president was allowed to talk for half an hour about the most banal things and tell the worst lies without one of the three presenters sitting there like oil idols daring to contradict him.
So it’s not surprising that Fox News was also at the forefront of spreading Donald Trump’s Big Lie. Whether Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson or Laura Ingraham – all three of the evening’s star hosts repeated the rigged voting machine thesis over and over again. With the business presenter Lou Dobbs, the crazy lawyer Sidney Powell was part of the inventory. Meanwhile, Rudy Giuliani was allowed to cry at Laura Ingraham.
The justification for the Big Lie could not have been more adventurous. The voting machines were manipulated in such a way that they secretly converted votes for Trump into votes for Biden. Those responsible copied this trick from Hugo Chavez, the dictator of Venezuela who died in 2013.
That was too much of a bad thing for the technology group Dominion, which is responsible for many voting machines. She filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News, seeking $1.6 billion in damages.
The court then obtained a number of testimony from Fox News, including that of Murdoch and the said stars. In the run-up to the trial, which is expected to take place in April, Dominion’s indictment has now been published. It also contains parts of the witness statements. They make it abundantly clear that those responsible at Fox News acted cynically and against their better judgement. Here some examples:
Rupert Murdoch has stated under oath that the thesis of the stolen elections is “destructive” and “insane”. After one of Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell’s now-legendary press conferences, he texted Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott, “Terrible, I’m afraid this is going to hurt everyone.” Scott agreed with her editor, adding, “Yes, even Sean (Hannity) and (Jeanine) Pirro agree.”
On November 6, 2020, when Biden’s election victory was still uncertain but looming, Murdoch wrote to Scott, “If Trump turns out to be a sore loser, then we need to keep an eye on Sean (Hannity).”
But Even said Hannity, arguably Trump’s best friend at Fox News, didn’t believe the big lie, despite repeating it over and over on his show. He commented on Giuliani’s performances in an email to Laura Ingraham as follows: “He’s acting like a madman. Such a goddamn idiot.” When questioned under oath about the Big Lie, Hannity admitted, “No one ever convinced me that any of this was true.”
Tucker Carlson, meanwhile, was concerned about Fox News’ image with its viewers. When reporter Jacqui Heinrich did a critical fact check and shared it on Twitter, Carlson called for her immediate dismissal. “This has got to stop, now. Our share price is falling, that’s no joke.” Heinrich deleted her tweet the next day.
Trump supporters leave Fox News
Falling stock prices and angry viewers are also why Fox News let Trump and his conspirators run their course. That fear was fueled by the fact that Fox News was the first TV channel to broadcast that Joe Biden had actually won the election in the state of Arizona. Trump exploded with anger and demanded that Fox News retract the report immediately. His disappointed supporters switched channels and dived into even more right-wing but small TV channels such as Newsmax. Fox News would later fire the editor responsible for the Arizona true story and get back on Trump’s line.
The Big Lie thesis, meanwhile, has arguably received the death knell of a special grand jury — a body that must determine whether charges should be brought — in the state of Georgia. This 25-member grand jury met for about two years and questioned 70 witnesses. She recorded her results in a report. The competent court has now decided that at least parts of this report may be made public.
Because core parts of the report are still missing and because individual passages have been blacked out even in the published parts, it is not clear what conclusion the grand jury reached. One thing is crystal clear, however: the panel unanimously concluded that there was no significant voter fraud in Georgia. On the other hand, it is suggested that one or more of the questioned witnesses committed perjury.
The responsible examining magistrate Fani Willis has opposed the publication of this report for legal reasons. However, she has announced that a decision on whether anyone – and who – should be prosecuted is “imminent”.
It is currently impossible to estimate whether Trump will also be charged. The finding will certainly hurt him. Georgia State University law professor Clark Cunningham told the Washington Post: “The lack of evidence of voter fraud is a mortal wound to Trump’s defense.”
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
