Tucker Carlson said he hates Trump ‘passionately’. Takeaways from Dominion-Fox News court documents
Fox News’ Tucker Carlsonan apparent ally and cheerleader for former President Donald Trumpactually couldn’t wait for him to leave the office, according to a text message released as part of a $1.6 billion defamation case.
“I hate him with a passion,” Carlson wrote, adding that he “can’t take much more of this,” according to the newly released legal documents. In the message, he said he “really can’t wait” to be able to stop covering Trump — adding that he has grown to spite him.
The juicy reveal was just one of many busy details released in the trove of documents that are part of Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit filed against Fox News. The documents shed new light on how the top talent and executives at Fox really felt about Trump. Their true feelings, as revealed in the lyrics, were often at odds with what was said on air.
That The Dominion-Fox lawsuit is one of a series of defamation cases filed by the voting machine manufacturer against key voter deniers, suggesting their unsubstantiated claims caused “serious harm” to the company. A trial in the case is expected to begin in April.
In a statement, Fox said the filings showed that Dominion “is using multiple distortions and misinformation in their public relations campaign to smear FOX News and trample on freedom of speech and freedom of the press.”
Here are the key takeaways.
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Tucker Carlson: Not a fan of Trump
Previously released messages from Carlson had blasted key Trump allies, but the latest messages released focus on Trump himself.
Carlson’s messages may come as a shock to some people who he has long defended the president and most recently inaccurately portrayed the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack as a peaceful gathering during a segment that featured exclusive footage from that day. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy gave Carlson and Fox News exclusive access to over 41,000 hours of Capitol Security footage.
Dig deeper: ‘Shockingly Reckless’: Fox News Hosts Privately Shoot Down Trump’s ‘Big Lie’ About Election Fraud
Murdoch has ‘never seen’ evidence of Dominion fraud
IN Fox chairman Rupert Murdoch’s In January, the media titan said he had seen no evidence that Dominion interfered in the 2020 election to disadvantage Trump.
“You never thought Dominion was involved in an attempt to delegitimize and destroy votes for Donald Trump, did you?” asked a Dominion lawyer.
“I’m open to persuasion, but no, I’ve never seen it,” Murdoch replied.
Murdoch also suggested that he never believed the election was stolen in any capacity, although any lingering doubts were put to rest when legal proceedings failed and then-Attorney General William Barr declared in December 2020 that the Justice Department did not uncover evidence of widespread voter fraud.
What we know: Dominion Voting sued Fox News for defamation over allegations of voter fraud
The Fox anchor asked executives to retract the call that Arizona was won by Biden
Two days after the 2020 election, Fox News anchor Bret Baier urged three executives to reverse the network’s call that Arizona was won by Joe Biden.
“I know you guys are feeling the pressure. But this situation is getting uncomfortable. Really uncomfortable,” Baier wrote on Nov. 5, 2020, according to the filings.
He added that the on-air defense of the call “hurt us” and suggested the network “hold on to pride.”
Managing editor Bill Sammon responded that the network would stick with the call, adding that it was “math” not “pride” that informed the call, which ended up being accurate.
‘shockingly reckless’: Fox News hosts privately shot down Trump’s ‘big lie’ about election fraud
Murdoch questioned whether top hosts went ‘too far’ with allegations of election fraud
In an email to Fox CEO Suzanne Scott sent the next day President Joe BidenMurdoch’s deposition questioned whether the network’s top hosts “went too far” in promoting Trump’s claims of election fraud.
“Mud is still being thrown at us!” Murdoch wrote, according to court documents. “Maybe Sean and Laura went too far,” he said, referring to hosts Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham.
Top Fox Officials Call Election Fraud Claims ‘Crazy’
Top Fox officials acknowledged that then-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell’s election fraud claims were “crazy,” trying to distance themselves from Powell and the conservative outlet Newsmax.
Fox Corp. Senior Vice President Raj Shah called Powell’s allegations of election fraud “totally insane” and “just REMEMBER BLOWNINGLY NUTS,” in a Nov. 21, 2020 email to producers, according to the Washington Post.
In Murdoch’s January statement, the Fox mogul said he had never heard of Powell, one of the leading promoters of Trump’s false allegations of election fraud.
“Did you ever believe that Sidney Powell has revealed credible evidence about her allegations of election fraud?” a Dominion lawyer asked Murdoch.
“No,” he replied. “I’ve never heard of her. I’ve never heard of her before.”
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fox News-Dominion takeaways: Carlson hates Trump ‘passionately’, more
