Connect with us

Published

on

Now that the election is over, Donald Trump has returned to one of his most cherished pastimes: filing nuisance lawsuits. Abusing the legal system was a key precept of Trumps decades-long career as a celebrity business tycoon, and he kept it up, out of habit or perhaps enjoyment, during his first term as president.

The newest round of litigation is different. Trump has broadened his targets to include not just reporters and commentators but pollsters. On Monday, his lawyers filed an absurd lawsuit against the pollster J. Ann Selzer, accusing her of election interference and consumer fraud for a now-infamous poll released on the eve of the election that showed Trump losing to Kamala Harris in Iowa. (The lawsuit also names The Des Moines Register, which published the poll, and its parent company, Gannett, as defendants.) An even more important difference is the behavior of the targets of his threats. Unlike during his first term, when they mostly laughed off his ridiculous suits, much of the medias ownership class now seems inclined to submit.

Last Saturday, ABC News revealed that it had decided to settle a Trump lawsuit, donating $15 million to a future Trump presidential museum and paying $1 million in legal fees. The pretext for Trumps suit was an interview by George Stephanopoulos, a frequent Trump target, with Representative Nancy Mace, in which he said Donald Trump has been found liable for rape by a jury. Stephanopoulos was describing a lawsuit in which the jury found that Trump had forcibly penetrated the writer E. Jean Carroll with his hands, but not with his penisan act that is currently defined as rape under New York law, but that was not at the time the assault happened. This is an exceedingly narrow ground for a libel suit, not to mention an odd distinction upon which to stake a public defense. According to The New York Times, ABC decided to settle in part because Disney, its parent company, feared blowback.

ABC may not be alone in this. Since the prospect of a Trump restoration began to seem likely earlier this year, corporate titans have been transparently sucking up to him. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times, not only spiked that newspapers endorsement of Harris, but since the election has demanded that an editorial expressing concern over Trumps Cabinet choices be balanced with opinions expressing the opposite view, according to multiple reports. The Washington Posts owner, Jeff Bezos, notoriously overruled his papers planned endorsement of Harris as well. Bezos defended this decision as merely a poorly communicated and clumsily timed choice to halt presidential endorsements on journalistic principles that had nothing to do with Trump.

Paul Farhi: Why Trump wont stop suing the media and losing

This would have been a reasonable editorial decision in the absence of context. The context, however, is that Trump intervened to stop the Pentagon from awarding a $10 billion contract to Amazon during his first term, and is in a position to dish out additional punishments to Bezos, including to his space business, during his second. Bezos has showered Trump with praiseIm actually very optimistic this time around, he said at an event earlier this monthwhich seems to undermine the rationale for stopping endorsements. How is it that a newspapers editorial page endorsing a candidate exposes it to charges of bias, but public support by the owner for the presidents agenda does not?

Amazon has pledged $1 million to Trumps inauguration committee. So has Meta, whose founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, recently stood respectfully, with his hand over his heart, at a gathering at Mar-a-Lago as a recording of The Star-Spangled Banner performed by imprisoned defendants accused of participating in the January 6 insurrection played over the speakers. (According to reports, the identity of the singers was not announced, if you happen to think that would have made any difference in his behavior.)

The leverage point Trump has recognized is that most major media properties are tied to some larger fortune: Amazon, Disney, NantWorks (the technology conglomerate owned by Soon-Shiong), and so on. All those business interests benefit from government cooperation and can be harmed by unfavorable policy choices. Trump can threaten these owners because he mostly does not care about policy for its own sake, is able to bring Republicans along with almost any stance he adopts, and has no public-spirited image to maintain. To the contrary, he has cultivated a reputation for venality and corruption (his allies euphemistically call him transactional), which makes his strongman threats exceedingly credible.

What about the billionaires who dont own a legacy-media property? The idea of Resistance has fallen deeply out of fashion at the moment. But if any wealthy donors still care about defending free speech and democracy, they might consider a civil-defense fund for the less well-resourced targets of Trumps litigation spreewith the potential to expand into criminal defense once Trump officially takes over the Justice Department. The Register is unlikely to be the last small publication targeted by Trump. During the campaign, his mainstream Republican supporters explained away his repeated threats of revenge against his perceived enemies by insisting that he didnt really mean them. The latest flurry of absurd lawsuits makes clear that he very much does.

Continue Reading

Politics

Norman Tebbit: Former Tory minister who served in Margaret Thatcher’s government dies aged 94

Published

on

By

Norman Tebbit: Former Tory minister who served in Margaret Thatcher's government dies aged 94

Norman Tebbit, the former Tory minister who served in Margaret Thatcher’s government, has died at the age of 94.

Lord Tebbit died “peacefully at home” late on Monday night, his son William confirmed.

One of Mrs Thatcher’s most loyal cabinet ministers, he was a leading political voice throughout the turbulent 1980s.

He held the posts of employment secretary, trade secretary, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Conservative party chairman before resigning as an MP in 1992 after his wife was left disabled by the Provisional IRA’s bombing of the Grand Hotel in Brighton.

He considered standing for the Conservative leadership after Mrs Thatcher’s resignation in 1990, but was committed to taking care of his wife.

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and party chairman Norman Tebbit.
Pic: PA
Image:
Margaret Thatcher and Norman Tebbit in 1987 after her election victory. Pic: PA

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch called him an “icon” in British politics and was “one of the leading exponents of the philosophy we now know as Thatcherism”.

“But to many of us it was the stoicism and courage he showed in the face of terrorism, which inspired us as he rebuilt his political career after suffering terrible injuries in the Brighton bomb, and cared selflessly for his wife Margaret, who was gravely disabled in the bombing,” she wrote on X.

“He never buckled under pressure and he never compromised. Our nation has lost one of its very best today and I speak for all the Conservative family and beyond in recognising Lord Tebbit’s enormous intellect and profound sense of duty to his country.

“May he rest in peace.”

Lord Tebbit and his wife Margaret stand outside the Grand Hotel in Brighton.
Pic: PA
Image:
Lord Tebbit and his wife Margaret stand outside the Grand Hotel in Brighton. Pic: PA

Tory grandee David Davis told Sky News Lord Tebbit was a “great working class Tory, always ready to challenge establishment conventional wisdom for the bogus nonsense it often was”.

“He was one of Thatcher’s bravest and strongest lieutenants, and a great friend,” Sir David said.

“He had to deal with the agony that the IRA visited on him and his wife, and he did so with characteristic unflinching courage. He was a great man.”

Reform leader Nigel Farage said Lord Tebbit “gave me a lot of help in my early days as an MEP”.

He was “a great man. RIP,” he added.

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher with Employment Secretary Norman Tebbit.
Pic: PA
Image:
Lord Tebbit as employment secretary in 1983 with Mrs Thatcher. Pic: PA

Born to working-class parents in north London, he was made a life peer in 1992, where he sat until he retired in 2022.

Lord Tebbit was trade secretary when he was injured in the Provisional IRA’s bombing in Brighton during the Conservative Party conference in 1984.

Five people died in the attack and Lord Tebbit’s wife, Margaret, was left paralysed from the neck down. She died in 2020 at the age of 86.

Before entering politics, his first job, aged 16, was at the Financial Times where he had his first experience of trade unions and vowed to “break the power of the closed shop”.

He then trained as a pilot with the RAF – at one point narrowly escaping from the burning cockpit of a Meteor 8 jet – before becoming the MP for Epping in 1970 then for Chingford in 1974.

Norman Tebbit during the debate on the second reading of the European Communities (Amendment) Bill, in the House of Lords.
Pic: PA
Image:
Lord Tebbit during an EU debate in the House of Lords in 1997. Pic: PA

As a cabinet minister, he was responsible for legislation that weakened the powers of the trade unions and the closed shop, making him the political embodiment of the Thatcherite ideology that was in full swing.

His tough approach was put to the test when riots erupted in Brixton, south London, against the backdrop of high rates of unemployment and mistrust between the black community and the police.

He was frequently misquoted as having told the unemployed to “get on your bike”, and was often referred to as “Onyerbike” for some time afterwards.

What he actually said was he grew up in the ’30s with an unemployed father who did not riot, “he got on his bike and looked for work, and he kept looking till he found it”.

Continue Reading

Politics

‘Oui’ or ‘non’ for Starmer’s migration deal?

Published

on

By

'Oui' or 'non' for Starmer's migration deal?

👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈       

The first European state visit since Brexit starts today as President Emmanuel Macron arrives at Windsor Castle.

On this episode, Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy look at what’s on the agenda beyond the pomp and ceremony. Will the government get its “one in, one out” migration deal over the line?

Plus, which one of our presenters needs to make a confession about the 2008 French state visit?

Continue Reading

US

Benjamin Netanyahu nominates Donald Trump for Nobel Peace Prize – as Gaza ceasefire talks continue

Published

on

By

Benjamin Netanyahu nominates Donald Trump for Nobel Peace Prize - as Gaza ceasefire talks continue

Israel’s prime minister has nominated Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Benjamin Netanyahu made the announcement at a White House dinner, handing over the letter for the US president to read.

“Coming from you in particular, this is very meaningful,” Mr Trump said.

The Israeli leader said Mr Trump was “forging peace as we speak, and one country and one region after the other”.

Organisers award the prize to the person who does the most for “fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses”.

Benjamin Netanyahu showed President Trump the Nobel nomination letter. Pic: AP
Image:
Benjamin Netanyahu handed Donald Trump the Nobel nomination letter. Pic: AP

Mr Trump took credit for stopping Iran and Israel‘s “12-day war” last month, announcing it with fanfare on Truth Social, and the ceasefire has so far held.

The president has claimed US strikes obliterated Iran’s purported nuclear weapons programme – and that the country now wants to restart negotiations.

“We have scheduled Iran talks, and they want to,” Mr Trump told reporters on Monday. “They want to talk.”

👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈

Iran hasn’t confirmed the move, but its president told US broadcaster Tucker Carlson he believes his country can resolve differences with the US through dialogue.

Masoud Pezeshkian also said Iran would be willing to resume cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog.

However, he said full access to nuclear sites wasn’t yet possible as US strikes had damaged them so badly.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Netanyahu arrives in US for ceasefire talks

Away from Iran, fighting continues in Gaza and Ukraine.

Mr Trump famously boasted before his second stint in the White House that he could end the Ukraine war in 24 hours.

The reality has been very different – with Ukraine saying last week that Russia unleashed the heaviest aerial attack of the war so far.

Critics have also claimed Vladimir Putin is “playing” his US counterpart and that he has no intention of agreeing a ceasefire.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Russia bombards Ukraine with drones and missiles

However, Mr Trump could try to take credit for progress in Gaza if – as he’s suggested – an agreement on a 60-day ceasefire is done this week.

Indirect negotiations with Hamas are taking place that could lead to the release of some of the remaining 50 Israeli hostages and a surge in aid to Gaza.

The White House said Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is travelling to Qatar this week to try to seal the agreement.

Read more:
Israeli soldier describes arbitrary killing of civilians in Gaza

IDF troops ‘psychologically broken’ after Gaza – UN expert

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

‘Some Israeli commanders can decide to do war crimes’

Follow the World
Follow the World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

Whether a temporary pause could open a path to a lasting peace remains uncertain, with the two sides’ criteria for peace still far apart.

Mr Netanyahu has said Hamas must surrender, disarm and leave Gaza – something it refuses to do.

He also told reporters on Monday that the US and Israel were working with other countries who would give Palestinians “a better future” – and indicated those in Gaza could move elsewhere.

“If people want to stay, they can stay, but if they want to leave, they should be able to leave,” he added.

“We’ve had great cooperation from… surrounding countries, great cooperation from every single one of them. So something good will happen,” Mr Trump said.

The president was widely criticised earlier this year when he suggested resettling Gaza’s population to countries such as Jordan and Egypt and turning it into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.

Human rights groups said the plan amounted to ethnic cleansing and most Gazans said they would never consider leaving.

Continue Reading

Trending