Trump news today live: Fox News lawsuit reveals Trump was blocked from on-air call during Capitol riot

Donald Trump responds to President Biden’s State of the Union address

Sign up for Inside Washington’s daily email of exclusive US coverage and analysis delivered to your inbox. Get our free Inside Washington email

Donald Trump says he will visit East Palestine, Ohio, two weeks after a freight train loaded with toxic materials derailed and leaked into the community.

“Biden and FEMA said they would not send federal aid to East Palestine. As soon as I announced that I’m going, he announced that a team is going,” Trump said on Social Truth.

Meanwhile, Tucker Carlson allegedly called former President Donald Trump a “demonic force” that could “destroy” him if he got it wrong, in texts to his producer.

“He is the undisputed champion of the world. He could easily destroy us if we play it wrong,” Carlson sent to his Fox News producers, according to court filings in the Dominion defamation case. He called Mr. Trump “a demonic force, a destroyer,” adding, “But he’s not going to destroy us.”

The $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems over the network’s coverage of the 2020 presidential election has been called an attack on the First Amendment by the channel’s lawyers.

Fox News repeatedly broadcast lies about Trump’s vote-rigging claims that it knew were “total bs,” Dominion Voting Systems said in a filing made public Thursday.

Dominion wrote: “From top to bottom, Fox knew the ‘dominion stuff’ was ‘total bs.'” Yet despite knowing the truth – or at least, recklessly ignoring the truth – Fox spread and endorsed these ‘outlandish claims of voter fraud’ for Dominion, even though he internally recognized the lies as ‘crazy’, ‘absurd’ and ‘shockingly reckless’”.

Highlights Show latest update 1676768580Pentagon was aware of suspected spy balloons during Trump administration, report says

A small number of Pentagon intelligence staff were tracking several facilities during the Trump administration. According to a new report, those objects are now thought to have been balloons.

The Biden White House chose to share earlier incidents with the public after it shot down a Chinese spy balloon earlier this month. The Biden administration did not say where the previous objects had flown and said they may have gone undetected by the Trump administration.

But it now appears that some Pentagon officials during Donald Trump’s presidency were aware of the incidents and that they were linked to China, according to the Journal. The theory was that China was using the facilities to test radar jamming systems near US military facilities.

Information collected about incidents during the Trump administration was limited to a simple assessment in the summer of 2020 and was not widely shared, the report said.

Read more:

Graeme Massie19 February 2023 01:03

1676765100 Trump says he will visit East Palestine after two weeks of silence

Trump confirmed on his Truth Social platform that he will travel to the community of 4,700 on Wednesday.

Graeme Massie19 February 2023 00:05

1676762151 The biggest revelations from Dominion’s Fox News lawsuit filing

Fox News is facing a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems, a Denver-based voting machine manufacturer, over its coverage of the 2020 presidential election and then-President Donald Trump’s false claims that the race was ” cheated” to ensure victory for Joe Biden.

In a 192-page court filing released Thursday that contains private messages from many of Fox’s biggest stars, Dominion argues: “From top to bottom, Fox knew the ‘Dominion stuff’ was ‘total bs.'” .

“Yet, despite knowing the truth—or at least, recklessly ignoring that truth—Fox propagated and endorsed these ‘outlandish voter fraud claims’ about Dominion, even though it knew the lies internally as ‘crazy’, ‘absurd’ and ‘shockingly reckless’. “, it was said in the file.

Fox’s lawyers, however, have argued that Dominion has only advanced “new theories of defamation” and is seeking an “aggressive” figure in damages aimed at garnering headlines, silencing protected speech and enriching its owner. Staple Street Capital Partners, and its investors.

A Fox spokesman said in a statement in response to Thursday’s filing: “There will be a lot of noise and confusion created by Dominion and their opportunistic private equity owners, but the heart of this case remains about freedom of the press and freedom of expression.” speech. which are fundamental rights provided by the Constitution and protected by New York Times v. Sullivan.”

A five-week trial is scheduled to begin on April 17.

Here, The Independent’s Joe Sommerlad provides a brief overview of some of the more surprising claims in the new dossier, which collects private text messages from prominent anchors such as Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham and owner Rupert Murdoch discussing coverage of the aftermath of the 2020 election. :

Graeme Massie18 February 2023 23:15

1676755203Jimmy Carter, 98, receiving hospice care at Georgia home

The 39th US president to spend ‘the rest of his time’ with family, according to the Carter Center.

Graeme Massie18 February 2023 21:20

1676751654Fox News blocked Trump from on-air call during Capitol riots because it would be ‘irresponsible’

Fox News and its parent company are being sued for $1.6 billion by Dominion Voting Systems over election claims.

Graeme Massie18 February 2023 20:20

1676749149Trump blocked from Fox News on Jan. 6, court documents say

Fox News blocked Donald Trump from making a call to the right-wing news channel during the January 6 attack by his supporters at the US Capitol.

Trump was called on Lou Dobbs’ Fox Business show after the fatal riot, according to court filings in the $1.6 billion defamation case brought by Dominion Voting Systems against the network.

“On the afternoon of Jan. 6, after the Capitol was attacked, then-President Trump called into the Lou Dobbs show trying to get on the air,” Dominion lawyers wrote in their legal brief.

“But Fox executives vetoed this decision,” Dominion’s filing continued. “Why? Not for lack of information. January 6 was an important event by any measure. President Trump was not only the sitting president, he was the central figure of the day.”

Graeme Massie18 February 2023 19:39

1676747738Nikki Haley Says Ron DeSantis Didn’t Go ‘Far Enough’ With Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill

Trump’s rival told the crowd at a town hall in New Hampshire that conversations about gender should be banned altogether in elementary schools.

Graeme Massie18 February 2023 19:15

1676733651Fox News blocked Trump from calling to show after Capitol riots

Fox News executives barred Donald Trump from attending a show while his supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, a court filing revealed.

The disclosure came in a 200-page filing by Dominion Voting Systems as part of its defamation suit against Fox News.

The filing said Trump had tried to appear on Lou Dobbs’ show on the Fox business network.

Network president Lauren Petterson testified that executives determined it would be “irresponsible” to air it.

She said that doing so “could affect a lot of people in a negative way”.

A source told CNN that the House select committee investigating the Capitol riots was aware of Mr Trump’s call to the network.

Megan SheetsFebruary 18, 2023 3:20 p.m

1676732400 Fox reporter said she should have done a better job ‘respecting our audience’ by not fact-checking false claims

On Nov. 19, a memo to executives said the “lack of any meaningful editorial direction” at Newsmax “could be a positive for them at least in the short term,” adding that that kind of “conspiratorial reporting could be just what the unsatisfied. [Fox News] the viewer is looking for.”

“Never give viewers a reason to tune us out,” Fox executive Ron Mitchell wrote. “Each topic and guest must perform … ‘No weak errors’ in content – example: Abruptly walking out of a Trump campaign press conference.”

The next day, as the network aired Mr. Giuliani’s entire post-election press conference, then-White House correspondent Kristin Fisher checked the claims by Ms. Powell and Mr. Giuliani.

She said her boss Bryan Boughton immediately called her to tell her that “the higher ups at Fox News were also unhappy” and that she “needed to do a better job of — this is a quote — “respecting the audience ours”.

“Condemned for my work”, she wrote a message after the call.

Megan Sheets February 18, 2023 3:00 p.m

1676728629Trump plans to visit East Palestine after train derailment

Donald Trump is preparing to visit East Palestine, Ohio, as it continues to deal with the aftermath of a train derailment earlier this month.

The former president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., announced the plans via Twitter Friday night.

“Breaking News: Trump to visit East Palestine, Ohio next week,” he wrote. “If our ‘leaders’ are too afraid to actually lead, real leaders will step up and fill the void.”

Trump appeared to confirm the report on Social Truth, writing: “Great people who need help, NOW!”

Fox News reported that Mr Trump will meet with East Palestinian residents on Wednesday, almost three weeks after the February 3 derailment.

Megan SheetsFebruary 18, 2023 1:57 p.m