received thousands of documents and communications from and between the hosts and others. Some of the messages, including one bizarre memo from a third-party, has shown that Fox and its hosts knew that the narrative they were sharing with their audience was, at best, misleading, at worst, a complete fabrication.
According to a 192-page legal brief released by a Delaware court, Fox News’s Maria Bartaromo and Lou Dobbs entertained claims that the election was stolen using Dominion voting machines from Sidney Powell, a pro-Trump attorney.
Both hosts, and eventually the entire network, relied on information provided by Powell. Powell based her claims on a memo that provided “insider” information into the alleged fraud.
The author of the memo, whose name was redacted from the legal documents, claimed that she gathered the information while experiencing something “like time-travel in a semi-conscious state.” The author goes on to say that she had been “internally decapitated” and was actually dead. She claims, in the memo, that the “wind” tells her she’s a ghost, but she doesn’t believe it.
The memo then goes on to detail the fraud and other interesting details.
She claimed that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was killed in a week-long human hunt at an elite social club. Scalia died of a heart attack in 2016.
The document also claimed that former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes and founder Rupert Murdoch “secretly huddle most days to determine who best to portray Mr. Trump as badly as possible.” Ailes had been dead for over three years when the letter was written.
This memo was the foundation of Powell's claims of fraud as presented to Fox viewers and readers. She was a frequent guest and, whenever asked for her information, said that she had an inside source, presumably the author of this memo.
In other revelations from the release, a Fox News host indicated they knew the claims of fraud were a hoax. Several expressed their disdain for Trump in private text messages to each other and owner, Rupert Murdoch. Tucker Carlson, one of Trump’s biggest advocates on the network, wrote in a text message, “I hate him passionately.”
The suit is expected to go to trial on April 17 and is scheduled to last for five weeks. Observers don’t believe Fox will settle with Dominion; the news outlet is disputing “facts” in the case. If it goes to a jury trial, a jury can set the penalties much higher if they find that Fox was particularly negligent.
Bob Peryea
National Correspondent
The Kentucky Daily