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Tag: delays

  • Judge delays trial over Fox News and 2020 election lies

    Judge delays trial over Fox News and 2020 election lies

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    Claire Bischoff, a Dominion spokesperson, said the company would have no comment on the trial delay. Representatives for Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corp., the entities Dominion is suing, did not immediately return requests for comment. In his statement, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said only that the trial, including jury selection, would be continued until Tuesday and that he would announce the delay in court on Monday.

    That’s when Fox News executives and the network’s star hosts were scheduled to begin answering for their role in spreading doubt about the 2020 presidential election and creating the gaping wound that remains in America’s democracy.

    Jurors hearing the $1.6 billion lawsuit filed against Fox by Dominion Voting Systems would have to answer a specific question: Did Fox defame the voting machine company by airing bogus stories alleging that the election was rigged against then-President Donald Trump, even as many at the network privately doubted the false claims being pushed by Trump and his allies?

    Yet the broader context looms large. A trial would test press freedom and the reputation of conservatives’ favorite news source. It also would illuminate the flow of misinformation that helped spark the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and continues to fuel Trump’s hopes to regain power in 2024.

    Fox News stars Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity and founder Rupert Murdoch are among the people who had been expected to testify.

    Barring a settlement, opening statements are now scheduled for Tuesday.

    “This is Christmas Eve for defamation scholars,” said RonNell Andersen Jones, a University of Utah law professor.

    If the trial were a sporting event, Fox News would be taking the field on a losing streak, with key players injured and having just alienated the referee. Pretrial court rulings and embarrassing revelations about its biggest names have Fox on its heels.

    Court papers released over the past two months show Fox executives, producers and personalities privately disbelieved Trump’s claims of a fraudulent election. But Dominion says Fox News was afraid of alienating its audience with the truth, particularly after many viewers were angered by the network’s decision to declare Democrat Joe Biden the winner in Arizona on election night in November 2020.

    Some rulings by the judge have eased Dominion’s path. In a summary judgment, Davis said it was “CRYSTAL clear” that fraud allegations against the company were false. That means trial time won’t have to be spent disproving them at a time when millions of Republicans continue to doubt the 2020 results.

    Davis said it also is clear that Dominion’s reputation was damaged, but that it would be up to a jury to decide whether Fox acted with “actual malice” — the legal standard — and, if so, what that’s worth financially.

    Fox witnesses would likely testify that they thought the allegations against Dominion were newsworthy, but Davis made it clear that’s not a defense against defamation.

    New York law protects news outlets from defamation for expressions of opinion. But Davis methodically went through 20 different times on Fox when allegations against Dominion were discussed, ruling that all of them were fully or partly considered statements of fact, and fair game for a potential libel finding.

    “A lawsuit is a little bit like hitting a home run,” said Cary Coglianese, law professor at the University of Pennsylvania. “You have to go through all of the bases to get there.” The judge’s rulings “basically give Dominion a spot at third base, and all they have to do is come home to win it.”

    Both Fox and Dominion are incorporated in Delaware, though Fox News is headquartered in New York and Dominion is based in Denver.

    Fox angered Davis this past week when the judge said the network’s lawyers delayed producing evidence and were not forthcoming in revealing Murdoch’s role at Fox News. A Fox lawyer, Blake Rohrbacher, sent a letter of apology to Davis on Friday, saying it was a misunderstanding and not an intention to deceive.

    It’s not clear whether that would affect a trial. But it’s generally not wise to have a judge wonder at the outset of a trial whether your side is telling the truth, particularly when truth is the central point of the case, Jones said.

    The lawsuit essentially comes down to whether Dominion can prove Fox acted with actual malice by putting something on the air knowing that it was false or acting with a “reckless disregard” for whether it was true. In most libel cases, that is the most difficult hurdle for plaintiffs to get past.

    Dominion can point to many examples where Fox figures didn’t believe the charges being made by Trump allies such as Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani. But Fox says many of those disbelievers were not in a position to decide when to air those allegations.

    “We think it’s essential for them to connect those dots,” Fox lawyer Erin Murphy said.

    If the case goes to trial, the jury will determine whether a powerful figure like Murdoch — who testified in a deposition that he didn’t believe the election-fraud charges — had the influence to keep the accusations off the air.

    “Credibility is always important in any trial in any case. But it’s going to be really important in this case,” said Jane Kirtley, director of the Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and the Law at the University of Minnesota.

    Kirtley is concerned that the suit may eventually advance to the U.S. Supreme Court, which could use it as a pretext to weaken the actual malice standard that was set in a 1964 decision in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan. That, she feels, would be disastrous for journalists.

    Dominion’s lawsuit is being closely watched by another voting-technology company with a separate but similar case against Fox News. Florida-based Smartmatic has looked to some rulings and evidence in the Dominion case to try to enhance its own $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit in New York. The Smartmatic case isn’t yet ready for trial but has survived Fox News’ effort to get it tossed out.

    Many experts are surprised Fox and Dominion have not reached an out-of-court settlement, though they can at any time. There’s presumably a wide financial gulf. In court papers, Fox contends the $1.6 billion damages claim is a wild overestimate.

    Dominion’s motivation may also be to inflict maximum embarrassment on Fox with the peek into the network’s internal communications following the election. Text messages from January 2021 revealed Carlson telling a friend that he passionately hated Trump and couldn’t wait to move on.

    Dominion may also seek an apology.

    The trial has had no apparent effect on Fox News’ viewership; it remains the top-rated cable network. And there is little indication that the case has changed Fox’s editorial direction. Fox has embraced Trump once again in recent weeks following the former president’s indictment by a Manhattan grand jury, and Carlson presented an alternate history of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, based on tapes given to him by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

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    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • Israel’s Netanyahu delays judicial reform after mass protests

    Israel’s Netanyahu delays judicial reform after mass protests

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    israel politics photo gallery 76124

    Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Monday he would postpone a controversial reform that would give parliament more control over the country’s judiciary, after weeks of mass protests against the legislation.

    “When there’s an option to avoid civil war through dialogue, I take a time off for dialogue,” he said in a press statement delivered shortly after 8 p.m. local time amid ongoing protests involving supporters from both sides. He added that “out of national responsibility,” he is delaying the final readings of the divisive judicial appointments bill until the next session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, which starts in early May.

    Netanyahu sparked weeks of chaos with proposals to rein in Israel’s top court, while he is currently on trial for corruption himself and could benefit from the overhaul.

    The proposed reform consists of a series of bills that would grant the Knesset more oversight over the country’s judiciary — including how judges are selected, what laws the Supreme Court can rule on, as well as overturning Supreme Court decisions.

    Monday’s announcement follows calls for action from President Isaac Herzog, who had demanded earlier in the day that the government “halt the legislative process immediately” in a statement on Twitter.

    The legal overhaul was an important part of Netanyahu’s program upon returning to power last December to head a coalition government that has been described as the most right-wing in Israel’s history.

    Israel’s Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has said that Netanyahu, who is standing trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, should not be involved in a judicial overhaul before the end of his court cases, in case of a potential conflict of interest.

    Netanyahu has denied wrongdoing, calling the corruption charges “a witch hunt.”

    The judicial reform has triggered enormous protests nationwide in the past three months. On Sunday evening, tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in cities across the country to oppose Netanyahu’s dismissal of his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, for challenging the reform, announced by the prime minister’s office in a brief statement.

    In reaction, Gallant wrote on Twitter: “The security of the state of Israel always was and will always remain my life mission.”

    The growing popular dissent against the judicial overhaul grew Monday as the leader of Israel’s top trade union called for a general strike, according to French newswire AFP. According to The Times of Israel, all flights were grounded at the country’s main international airport, while public hospitals only provided emergency care.

    Thousands of demonstrators gathered once again in front of parliament on Monday to protest the reforms, while far-right leaders, like National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, had called their supporters to a join counter-rally in support of the reform, which was reportedly also attended by several thousand government supporters later in the day.



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    ( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

  • Turkey: Erdogan’s ‘mea culpa’ for delays in rescue efforts

    Turkey: Erdogan’s ‘mea culpa’ for delays in rescue efforts

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    The Turkish president expressed his disagreement with the State’s response to the emergency generated by the strong earthquakes that affected the country. The streets and sporting events have been the scenarios in which citizens have expressed their discontent and have even called for the resignation of the Government.

    A ‘mea culpa’ expected. “In the first days, we were not able to carry out the work as efficiently as we wanted in Adiyaman,” the Turkish head of state, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said on February 27, amid a complex panorama.

    “The destructive impact of the tremors, the adverse weather and the challenges due to damaged infrastructure” are some of the reasons outlined by the Turkish leader as justification.

    But this apology may also have been prompted by the growing number of deaths, the accusations that weigh on the Executive for the supposed minimum requirements to the contractors of the hundreds of thousands of buildings destroyed and a prompt appointment with the polls.

    The president also required the understanding of the inhabitants of the affected areas in the midst of difficulties and also stressed his commitment to a rapid reconstruction.

    However, nature does not seem to help. A new earthquake in the southwest of the country killed at least 100 people, adding to the most recent government figures: 44,374 fatalities in total.

    A man walks past a patch of rubble, after a deadly earthquake, in Antakya, Hatay province, Turkey, on February 21, 2023. © Reuters – Clodagh Kilcoyne

    Some 30 buildings did not resist the new tremor of this February 27, located at 5.6 magnitude on the Richter scale.

    An unknown number of people were left under the rubble, but several were rescued. These survivors were collecting their belongings, abandoned after the first earthquakes that shook the nation three weeks ago, when they were surprised by the new telluric movement.

    Official figures date the damaged buildings to hundreds of thousands. In this photo, a man rides a motorcycle through the rubble of destroyed buildings in Samandag, southern Turkey, Wednesday, February 22, 2023.
    Official figures date the damaged buildings to hundreds of thousands. In this photo, a man rides a motorcycle through the rubble of destroyed buildings in Samandag, southern Turkey, Wednesday, February 22, 2023. © AP – Emrah Gurel

    “This is an extraordinary activity,” said Orhan Tatar, director general of earthquake and risk reduction at the Turkish Emergency and Disaster Management Authority. According to the official, four new earthquakes have been reported in the region (included in the province of Malatya) in recent weeks, accompanied by some 45 aftershocks with magnitudes between 5 and 6 degrees.

    The investigations into the high number of collapses are not stopping either: there are already 184 detainees for alleged complicity in the collapses, confirming that the focus is now on the construction companies.

    Signs of discontent in sports days

    In a country where dissenting voices from the ‘establishment’ are viewed with particular suspicion, the Turks have not been silent in the face of the difficult conditions created by the earthquakes and the state’s response.

    In football matches held this weekend by the local league, calls for the resignation of the Government were heard loudly.

    Fans of the Besiktas football team throw toys on the field for children affected by the earthquake. The event happened during a Turkish Super League match at Vodafone Park, Istanbul, Turkey, on February 26, 2023.
    Fans of the Besiktas football team throw toys on the field for children affected by the earthquake. The event happened during a Turkish Super League match at Vodafone Park, Istanbul, Turkey, on February 26, 2023. © Reuters – Stringer

    As reported by the Reuters agency, fans of Besiktas, one of the main teams in the Turkish league, threw thousands of stuffed animals onto the playing field to be donated to the affected children. This action was accompanied by demands to resign from the ministerial train.

    The followers of another of the Turkish clubs, Fenerbahce, were not far behind in their discontent either. From the stands the motto “twenty years of lies and cheats, resign” was heard.

    The harsh response to anti-government protests

    The response, both political and sporting, was not long in coming. “The Nationalist Movement Party strongly condemns the use of sport in dirty politics during such sensitive and painful days for our country,” said Devlet Bahceli, leader of that political party, a member of the AK Parti (Justice and Development Party) of Erdoğan.

    For its part, the club Caykur Rizespor, from Erdogan’s hometown, described the fans’ grievance towards the state leadership as “provocative acts” and called the protesters “sewer rats”.

    The Minister of the Interior, Suleyman Soylu, also defended the Government: “If someone wants to do politics, there will be elections in the next few days (…) But those who want to turn sport into a political arena must pay attention to the efforts of the State, the nation and civil society”, he highlighted on Twitter.

    Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) MP Oya Ersoy reacts when riot police prevent her from joining the demonstrations. In recent days, protesters have shown their discontent with the Government's actions in the context of the earthquakes that have occurred since February 6, 2023.
    Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) MP Oya Ersoy reacts when riot police prevent her from joining the demonstrations. In recent days, protesters have shown their discontent with the Government’s actions in the context of the earthquakes that have occurred since February 6, 2023. © Reuters – Dilara Senkaya

    Finally, the Minister of Sports also made his vision known. Mehmet Kasapoglu followed the line of message used by the defenders of the Government, and pointed directly to certain groups of generating “targeted provocations” with the aim of fracturing the unity of the country.

    In other reports of protests, riot police intervened in several outbreaks. In downtown Istanbul, dozens of supporters and members of the far-left Turkish Workers’ Party were arrested as they demonstrated against the government.

    with Reuters

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    ( With inputs from : pledgetimes.com )

  • Air traffic resumes after flight delays amid snowfall

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    Srinagar, Feb 11 (GNS): After morning hiccups due to snowfall and reduced visibility, flight operations to and fro resumed at Srinagar International airport. While there were no cancellations, the morning delays caused some congestion in the afternoon, officials said.   

    “Our peak hour passenger capacity is 950. That is 450 arriving and 500 departing passengers,” Director airport Srinagar Kuldeep Singh Rishi said in a tweet, adding, “A slight weather disruption with a few delays results in bunching of several flights and consequent congestion.”

    Earlier, he said, visibility at the airport increased from 500M to 1000 M, allowing resumption of the air traffic at the airport.

    The operations resumed with the arrival of Vistara (UK643) and SpiceJet (SEJ8963) at the airport, he added.

    In the morning, as per GNS, the authorities had to divert a few flights due to reduced visibility amid light snowfall this morning.  (GNS)

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    ( With inputs from : thegnskashmir.com )