It was assumed by everyone except perhaps Trump and his most faithful fluffers and fans that this was coming. Still, the timing caught most people off-guard as it was widely reported Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg wouldn’t be asking the Grand Jury for Indictments for another month. Well…
Bragg snuck a fastball right past everyone. In The Boys of Summer Roger Kahn wrote about the major league pitching primer. Would the batter like a fastball? Curve him, or better yet throw one at eye level. Eagerness leads to a missed swing. Strike One. Now curve curve him at the knees. Another missed swing. Strike two. Now he’s set for that curve, low and away throw that fastball right down the middle. That was the pitch the batter wanted, but not then. Not there. He watches helplessly as it goes by. Strike three!
I’m feeling like that’s what Bragg did to Trump. Remember how Trump was convinced the indictment was coming? And it didn’t? However eagerness caused Trump to swing wildly and make a fuss, looking stupid (again) in the process. Then Trump sends a lawyer to “testify” but really to trash Michael Cohen, both to the grand jury and on the courthouse steps. Bragg allows things to simmer, and even calls another witness. Then allows everyone to believe no indictment would happen for at least a month. And Trump swung and missed again, thinking Bragg was getting cold feet and looking to drop the case.
How wild was Trump’s swing? As I said, he and frankly quite a few others started speculating about the strength of Bragg’s case. Michael Cohen’s credibility. (Despite lots of corroborating evidence) The problems of turning a misdemeanor charge into a felony. So Trump started talking up how much he wanted to market his mugshot, talking “bigly” tough and so on. And then last Thursday Bragg threw the fastball Trump wanted (or said he did) right down the middle. Strike three MISTER Trump, only don’t head back to the dugout. Nope. Get your fat a$$ to court!
Look Fox is already under enormous pressure due to the Dominion lawsuit. I for one thing they’ve gone begging and even crying to Dominion’s lawyers to work out a settlement. Maybe for even more than Dominion was asking for in Actual Damages and got told (coldly) “Well see you in court.” So Fox has major and possibly expensive, as in enough to hurt when the jury gets around to (as with the evidence will probably happen) deciding on PUNITIVE damages. It would make my day to see them hit Fox for ten billion! Murdoch can of course afford it without much strain but it will hurt. Even an award of say five times the actual damages which would still exceed five billion would sting because it would get reported on ad nauseum. And perhaps make Murdoch finally rein in his evening hosts.
So as I say, their “family jewels” ore in a vise. Dominion has its hand on the that pin that control the vise and they have been cranking it tighter every day.
And now Trump has been indicted and “tomorrow” is finally here for Fox. How do they play it? No doubt there is evidence we don’t know yet, but there is already plenty in the public domain including evidence (testimony, recordings and documents including cancelled checks) presented under oath (and therefore under the Pain and Penalty of Perjury) to Congress. Mary Trump is right. “Donald is fu@ked!” Here’s the kicker: Fox knows there are facts in evidence that the whole damned country has seen. And can look up online. He DID arrange to pay off Stormy Daniels and hide the fact he’d done so. If he’d just cut her a check and had her sign a Non-Disclosure he wouldn’t have done anything illegal. But he couldn’t have her speaking out after the Access Hollywood tape so he tried to hide the whole thing and in doing so broke laws.
Again, this is already in the public record. The NOT good folks at Fox are fully aware of it. How they report on this matter starting with Trump’s arraignment is going to matter and here’s why: The are headed to court on the Dominion matter in a couple of weeks. The LAST thing they need to be doing is lying about what’s going on, and trying to trash Michael Cohen and the evidence he’s provided. Or the case in general. Not with sooooo much evidence of their disregard for the truth starting to be presented to a jury! Their own no longer private communications show how much and how often they LIED to prop up Trump and their own bottom line. It will take weeks to present it all.
And the seemingly magical “intent” that rich and powerful people get in court that the rest of us don’t? Fox is already screwed sideways with a telephone pole on that measure. Now they are faced with a Trump who has surely been DEMANDING they carry every minute of his Tues. night address from Mar A Lago live. And follow up with all manner of commentary about how it’s all a witch hunt, there’s no evidence etc. Stuff everyone including Trump but especially Fox from Murdoch on down knows is a big pile of steaming brown organic matter.
And Dominion will have a team within their team of lawyers watching and recording everything that is said, probably complete with a court reporter or someone trained as one so as to have a transcript each and every day!
That vise is going to squeeze Fox till things start to pop. They are faced with a Hobson’s Choice of either pleasing Trump and their MAGA viewers or adding untold billions to the amount they will have to pay in Punitive Damages!
I for one am loving their dilemma. They crapped their own bed and maybe had some Russian hookers do golden showers on it for good measure. And now they have to lie down in it. Trump isn’t going to be the only one finally being held accountable.
Faux Noise going out of business would be the best thing for this country. OAN and NewsMax probably aren’t going to be in business much longer. While not as widely reported, both of those organizations have also been sued by Dominion and SmartMatic.
How about kicking the entire murdoch family out of our country?
Then kick out melanoma and her anchor family of kgb agents…..
Where can a good fascist go when the Reich falls apart?