Donald Trump is is infamous for his brazen claim to be above the law. In 2016, Donald Trump famously said, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters [1][2], okay?” This statement was made during a campaign rally in Iowa, and was meant to illustrate the devotion of his supporters. Hmmmm.
The previous Do-Not-Go-To-Jail-Card of legal infamy occurred in 2009 – despite the severity of the 2008-2009 financial crisis, no major bank executives were criminally charged with causing it. Federal prosecutors considered cases against some high-profile individuals [1], but ultimately no charges were brought. Something about “To Big To Fail” and/or “We need their expertise to solve the problem they created”.
Well the breech and height of legal defiance is being tested again in the US as set out by ex-Daily Show Host John Stewart in his latest The Problem With podcast which decribe thewhy for the Dominion Voting Systems $1,6billion suit against FoxNews:
Tos summarize the basic case, Dominion Voting Systems has filed a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News [1][2], alleging that the news channel made false claims about its voting machines and software that were deliberately intended to undermine the integrity of the 2020 US Presidential Election. The lawsuit claims that Fox News and its on-air hosts recklessly repeated false claims about Dominion’s voting machines and software and that these false claims have caused significant harm to the company and to its employees. The lawsuit seeks damages for reputational harm, financial losses, and other damages.
The following cartoon featured at TheWeek underlines the basic problem.
But perhaps equally relevant is the latest legal filings published in its entirety by the NYTimes. The case is set be tried in early April 2023.I am sure Fan Duel has a few wagers on the outcome. My bet is is Rupert’s Fox gets a settlement for $300 million or less. After all Democratic Societies need to preserve as much as possible their Do-Not-Go-To-Jail-Cards.