Dem
51
GOP
49
Here is the front page of FoxNews.com yesterday.
We were curious if Fox even mentioned the $83 million award to E. Jean Carroll. It was indeed there, as the fourth item, after items about Biden wearing his hard hat backwards at a campaign stop in Wisconsin, Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) endorsing Bernie Moreno (R) in the Ohio Senate race, and one about the resolution to impeach DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
The item about the $83 million was an opinion piece by Victor Davis Hanson. It said: "The Carroll suit was just settled against Trump for $83.3 million! It was largely subsidized by Reid Hoffman, a billionaire capitalist and mega-donor to the Democratic Party and left-wing causes." We don't believe a word of that with one exception. Yes, Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, is a billionaire capitalist, but since when is that a sin on Fox? However, Carroll's lawyer, Robbie Kaplan, is very wealthy herself from previous big wins. If she lost the case, Kaplan wouldn't be eating dog food all of February. In this kind of case, almost always done on contingency, she will probably get about 30% of the $83 million, meaning $25 million for herself and her team. Many lawyers, even those of modest means, would take on a case where the upside for them could be $25 million or more, even if the downside is $0. Kaplan didn't need Hoffman's help and it probably wasn't offered.
The hit piece goes on and on about how Carroll could remember that she was sexually assaulted by Trump 30 years ago but couldn't remember the exact year. We are not women, but we suspect that women who are sexually assaulted remember it for the rest of their lives quite vividly, even if they don't remember the exact year. Then he goes on to say that the fact that she lost her job at age 76 does not merit an $83 million judgment.
Next on the hit list is the New York law that gave victims of sexual assault a 1-year window to file civil suits, even way beyond the usual statute of limitations. Clearly the New York State legislature passed that law just to get Trump.
Then Hanson moans that all criminal charges against Trump are left-wing hit jobs and the prosecutors have synchronized the timing of the trial dates for maximum damage. Would he have preferred four trials on the same date? He advises Trump to stay calm in the face of this vicious left-wing onslaught from hostile prosecutors. Followed by this: "So what we are witnessing is not even the extralegal efforts of Steele/Fusion GPS, Perkins Coie/DNC/Hillary Clinton in 2016, or the 2020 'Russian disinformation' ruse/change the voting laws/infuse half a billion dollars to absorb the work of the registrar machinations against Trump." If the $83M award doesn't get your blood boiling, surely all these things, none of which are germane here, will.
Finally, Hanson ends by giving Trump sage advice: "He must stay controlled amid the tsunamis, not play into the hands of his accusers, and remember that he may soon be the only eleventh-hour hope to stop this mockery of American law, customs and traditions." Kind of a repeat of Trump's oft-made remark that only he can save America.
We can't wait to see how many gallons of foam come out of Hanson's mouth (well, his keyboard) if Judge Arthur Engoron fines Trump the $370 million NY AG Letitia James has asked for. Engoron said he will try to make his ruling before Jan. 31. That's Wednesday. Hold onto your (MAGA) hat. The fine could be a dilly.
But let's give Fox credit where credit is due: It did cover the story.
As an aside, after Kaplan takes her $25 million or so, Carroll will still have something like $63 million left over. She just turned 80 in December. She was married and divorced twice and has no children. What is she going to do with $63 million at age 80 and no kids? It might be a couple of years before she gets any money, but she said the only luxury she is going to get now is premium dog food for her dog (the staff dachshunds say they approve). She is nevertheless thinking about what she will do with the money when she gets it. She did say she intends to do good with it. With $60+ million, you can do a lot of good. (V)