124 Comments

well, I am very touched TFG cares so deeply about costing NYC extra money because he's so important... Curiously, he didn't give two poops about inconveniencing the entire nation for publicity stunts (upside down Bible? A covid parade outside the hospital?) How about being responsible for hundreds of thousands of American dead during the pandemic because he spread lie after lie about the vaccine and masks? And it's a damn shame he doesn't care about the trillion or so $$ national deficit he imposed on us all... But it is deeply moving how much he cares about the inconvenience and costs to others, in this particular trial.

E Jean Carroll is truly one of the bravest, strongest people... I pray for her health and safety, and most of all, for her success. And I'm so happy she has a kick-ass legal team!!!

I do hope NYC is providing her with some sort of security. Those red hat folks can be nasty when riled up by their dictator. And so many of them are armed! (God, how I wish I was kidding.)

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One day, and I pray it is in my life time, the truth of Donald releasing the deadly biological chemical virus in 2019, he called a mistake, will be proven. "To damage the Blue States, and harm Donald's enemies," per Jared Kushner. Genocide is what I call what Donald did. This is what Putin would do!

Who do you think so many people are going into rage? The late Dr. Dick Gregory warned us that chemical weapons How to stay in power by any means necessary. Why do you think New York was more affected than any other State? Why do you think Hispanic's and other people of color were affected more? Targeted!!!

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Please. We have enough to deal with, putting up with lunatic morons from the other side. It's downright embarrassing when one of you idiots shows up claiming to be on our side.

Don't go away mad. Just go away. Go attend a MAGA rally with the rest of the morons and catch Covid and then Make America Great Again with your departure. Sorry, we're plumb out of sabretooth tigers to eat you evolutionary failures, so we have to kickstart Darwinian evolution any way we can.

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Ah, I believe you sent this message to the wrong individual.

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Oh ouch! That was a worthy burn.

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I am sure we are all looking forward to your documentation and factual evidence to support this hypothesis.

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The Light of the Truth is on. It is shinning.

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I am looking forward to the trial! I sincerely hope that Ms. Carroll is not persuaded to settle the case. Although she did not bring the case for public interest reasons, trump’s viscous remarks about her as well as the assault itself cannot be redressed by the mere payment of money. She deserves the headline, “Trump Loses!” And the country deserves to see his fat body, slumped over the defendant’s table, right next to the jury, with his furious face on., for all to see.

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$250,000,000 would be a sufficient admission of guilt, unless she can produce the dress that contains the evidence that apparently she was his type. Then Mar-a-Lago + $250,000,000 would be a sufficient sufficient settlement.

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Ms. Carroll has saved the dress. I think they might need a DNA sample from tfg.

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I’m betting they got one when he was arrested the other week.

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They did get one when he was arrested in NY, but the judge in Ms. Carroll's case compelled that a while back. It's also likely on file from when he was (gag) president.

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Gag is right.

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Oh, you mean like Monica, who is the only woman on earth that would not clean a dress when after sex she notice a little sperm on her clothing. I still say Monica got a lot of money for her seducing Clinton and keeping that dress.

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That's already been before a judge when Trump was attempting more delay tactics.

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Yes where is that dress????

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Oh that face, Barbara. I tried to recall what it reminded me of...iguanas in the sun when I visited the Galapagos Islands!

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Apr 20, 2023Liked by Joyce Vance

Thank you Joyce. My heartfelt wish for Ms Carroll is that SHE gets justice. Yes, maybe we did load up the Fox court case with all sorts of unrealistic wishes for the country, but here my hope is that she gets her day in court and comes out the other side with a resolution that helps bring her some peace of mind. How courageous she has been to persevere, even in the face of ridicule from Trump when he was the most powerful man in America. Go Jean Go!!🙌🙌

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Amen Amen Amen. E Jean is canonized in my head already.

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Thank you for keeping me (and, most likely, all of us) sane!! Really appreciate you Joyce!

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founding

Trump scheduling a campaign event in the middle of the Carroll trial exposes the fraudulent nature of his request for judicial approval of his absence from the court room. The judge should bounce his request!

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Apr 20, 2023·edited Apr 20, 2023

Donald J Trump is one of the most vile and mephistophelian creatures to ever walk the Planet. Yet he was once elected Chief Executive of our great Republic. A tragic and farcical event of Shakespearean proportions.

I worship the quicksand that man walks upon.

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Such a great description of TTIIFG (The Twice Impeached, Indicted Former Guy)! That people still support him doesn’t say anything positive about them. Of course, majority of them probably get their news from Fox. Full circle. 😔

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founding

Best of vibes to E Jean and her team. ❤️

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Trump really does feel that he is above the law as he and his lawyers attempt to manipulate events to their benefit. As for expectations about this trial, the Dominion settlement gave me a strong reminder truth and justice are rare and damn near impossible to come by these days.

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I wonder if Dominion took into consideration its reputation with the public when it decided on a $ number. I feel let down by them, even though they had every right to only be after money... not to consider the nation's well being.

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They got as much as they would ever get. It is common in a lawsuit to name a number twice what you will be getting (at best). This way, Fox has to cut the check next week, rather than play bullshit games in appeals for the next 20 years. Look at what the people who sued Alex Jones and didn't settle are going through to track down what they "won."

As much as everyone wants there to be a magic bullet that will solve all our problems with the Trumpscum, there is none. If you want a good country go be a good citizen and work your ass off to get it and be worthy of it.

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Yes, that all very logical, and materialistic.

There is a magic bullet... it's called 'public opinion.' Because it sways voting, protests, and purchasing of products from companies.

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It's also tax deductible for Fox. And the grift continues.

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I feel let down by the whole thing. Listening to their lead lawyer on Deadline Whitehouse yesterday just solidified my feelings.

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Yes Meg, wouldn't it be lovely if we all, corporations included, balanced our materialism with caring... saw the place we live/they do business, as needing to be healthy, vibrant and stable... as half our paycheck and of a business' bottom line?

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And maybe we could all have ponies and rainbows, too. :-)

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All anger is fear, fear something you love is in harms way... what in these posts is making you so angry?

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The stupidity of idiots who don't see beyond the end of their noses.

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Gee, it's too bad the judge couldn't make n exception to the rule about

no cameras in the courtroom in federal court, since it would be such a great scene!

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That's because you want somebody to make it all better for you, some Mommy In The Sky to wipe your eyes and say it's all OK. There isn't a Mommy (or Daddy) in the sky, so if you want to make things all better, as the Old Navy Chief used to tell us, "off your dead ass and onto your dying feet - there's work to be done!"

There are no magic beans to solve our problems. There's only us.

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You, TCin, make a lot of assumption, or are you speaking to yourself? Whom you know well?

What I hope you are NOT saying is... corporations should be only about money... should not give a rip about community where there reside... that corporations the courts gave personhood should not have a heart.

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Sorry, that's not how it works. Fox was never going to do any of those things, not with the Smartmatic suit next on the list.

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One could say they assisted in bringing on J6 (Fox) the night of the 2020 election by following their viewers’ lead for denial that 45 won and airing lies such as Sidney Powell’s etc.

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It's proof, if needed, that money can buy relief from justice.

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Apr 20, 2023·edited Apr 20, 2023

That's really interesting. (Given the imposition on NYC while he was in DC, it seems unlikely!)

That seems a disingenuous thing for an attorney to put in writing before a federal judge, but I gather Tacopina got spanked a couple of times for other attempts to manipulate access to the jury through motions to the judge.

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He did. The judge almost laughed him(Tackypeeny)out of court.

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I appreciate all you do for us and on top of that the chickens and you knit! Amazing!

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I wonder if Joyce could knit us some chickens!?

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People have got to get over this notion that civil trials are to resolve justice. Civil Court is just a “civil” process to resolve disputes short of breaching the peace. Garland’s job, unfortunately for us, not Dominion’s, to pursue truth, justice and the American way. Dominion could not risk one rogue juror and FoX pays to escape any damaging admissions. LOL Exactly what civil trials are designed to do. Trump wins again. Now we need to do something about the Star Chambers in federal court.

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We need to stop 45 from running again, losing, and going into denial all over again and blasting the capitol again. We need a big turnout in ‘24 for Biden.

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Joyce,

I am disappointed that Dominion settled the lawsuit out of court. It was a strong case and getting Fox owner, staff and hosts to testify would have gone a long way to exposing Trump and his minions to the "big lie" that he won the presidential race. But as usual the money settlement worked and the fact that Fox does not have to publicly report it on their news channel is disheartening. Trumps followers will blindly believe him and. continue to donate and so in a way Trump wins again.

Sorry to say I am losing faith in our justice system. The rich do get richer because that have the staying power with their purse to buy off companies, delay trials, buy Supreme Court justices and so on and so on.

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Watch Lawrence O’Donnel’s Wednesday night show. He gives this a lot of coverage supporting Dominion’s decision.

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It was very explanatory 👍

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This is the opening kick. 6-7 more suits coming and this info is available for them to use.

It is the biggest civil settlement possibly ever.

Justice for Dominion is one thing. If we want justice for ourselves, voting and activism helps. Murdoch has already thrown one of his sons under the bus, and this looks like Lachlan's turn.

However, check out the efforts to get cable companies to reduce the premium that gets paid to carry Fox, or the Vote Vets efforts to remove the channel from official military channels. (They can choose whatever they want on the bases, for instance).

And get out the blue vote.

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Trump is trying to trivialize the E Jean Carroll trial. He hopes the jury reads his absence as 'not worth his time'. The part of sparing the city all the inconveniences is just a filler for the judge. If I was on that jury and had taken time off out of my life to serve I think I would be a little miffed that the defendant, even if not required to, wasn't there. It will be interesting to find out how the judge explains it. I am not holding on too much hope that Trump is held accountable for a sexual assault from back then and the defamation part is also just another day in Trumps day. Who doesn't he try to defame. His nicknaming everyone like he was in Middle School is part of his schtick. I am rooting for E Jean Carroll but not confident we will get much satisfaction out of this one.

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This more of a rhetorical question, but what self-respecting attorney would work for tfg? It’s well known that he stiffs the people who work for him, and his immorality and mendacity should be enough to give any sensible person pause. Oh, wait...sensible people and trump...never mind.

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I suppose payoff could take many forms.

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The closing two paragraphs are so prescient. I get the direction of the column today discerning the difference between civil and criminal litigation and the calling of witnesses (as well as the endless fast-and-loose games Trump plays with the legal system in attempting to avoid trials). The person v person complaint is always subject to the two parties "settling" and putting an end to everything, even before the trial even starts. As Vance instructs us, "Dominion didn’t bring its lawsuit to redress larger societal grievances.", ie, Dominion's "property had been harmed" and Dominion was asking for compensation for the damages to its property (name, reputation, as well as future business) through Fox's knowingly and willful actions. Dominion had a corporate fiduciary interest to recover "damages" in the soundest fashion, hence a settlement now brought immediate relief without spending years and untold millions in appeals. We need to take the nuanced admission of guilt by Fox (through the settlement) as a step in the "surfacing" of "interesting and important information. Dominion spilled a fair bit of tea about how Fox spread the Big Lie to the American people." This "spilt tea" may very well become important in the long train of defamation law suits against Fox and Trump as time unfolds.

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Very well said Nathan. It's a kind of WISH that our courts, even civil, took into consideration bad intent, collateral damage to innocent bystanders and our precious institutions. We can change laws if they don't work. That's why we think about and discuss these things.

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According to The Lever, it appears that Rupert Murdoch can write off the judgement on his taxes, which in essence foots the American people with the bill, at least those of us who pay taxes to support the services that he overuses, like NYC police to protect his media operations.

https://www.levernews.com/fox-can-claim-tax-writeoff-for-defamation-settlement/

I really want to see the wealthy taxed enough that they pick different places to live than the US. Places that are known tax havens. However, in Switzerland they will need to learn French, German Romansh or Italian, that is the Swiss versions of these languages. In Monaco they would need to learn French of Mongasque. In other island nations they are always at risk of extreme weather events, and of course the encroaching sea as the planet warms. So, it is good to understand that the courts have a job to do and that is not to get revenge on various evil doers. So, Donald Trump's trial will run the way it runs and we shall see the outcome.

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Remember, Rupert has already paid out billions in settlements over the years. And he sees it as the cost of doing business.

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He is the first billionaire I would love to get rid of! Then the odious Musky Mr. Musk!

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The world would be a better, safer place

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What kind of businessman with any moral sense would do that?

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Fine. We'll take more from the next 6-7 suits.

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