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| Government Corruption |
| Judge Dismisses Ray Epps Suit Against Fox News |
| 2026-05-11 |
| [Newsmax] A federal judge on Friday dismissed former Arizona resident Ray Epps' defamation lawsuit against Fox News, ruling that Epps failed to plausibly show that the network acted with "actual malice" when former host Tucker Carlson suggested Epps may have been connected to federal authorities during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Hall of the District of Delaware granted Fox News Network LLC's motion to dismiss the amended complaint. The judge concluded that Epps did not provide sufficient factual allegations demonstrating that Fox or Carlson knowingly aired false statements or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. The lawsuit centered on several 2022 and 2023 broadcasts of "Tucker Carlson Tonight," in which Carlson and guests discussed Epps' presence outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, 2021. Epps alleged the broadcasts falsely portrayed him as a federal informant or undercover operative who helped instigate the Capitol breach. Hall assumed for purposes of the motion that viewers could have interpreted Carlson's comments as implying Epps was working with the government. However, the judge said the complaint still failed under the constitutional standard established in New York Times v. Sullivan, which requires public figures to prove "actual malice" in defamation cases. "The allegations do not give rise to a plausible inference that Carlson or anyone else responsible for TCT subjectively knew that their statements were false or that they possessed a reckless disregard for the truth," Hall wrote in the 27-page opinion. The judge rejected Epps' reliance on statements from former Fox employees Abby Grossberg, Jason Donner, and Geraldo Rivera, finding that none had direct knowledge about whether Epps had any relationship with federal authorities or responsibility for the content aired on Carlson's program. Hall also noted that Carlson's broadcasts relied on publicly known facts, including video showing Epps urging protesters on Jan. 5 to enter the Capitol "peacefully" the next day and his interactions with demonstrators near police barricades on Jan. 6. The opinion further referenced a Justice Department inspector general report confirming that FBI confidential human sources were present in Washington during the Jan. 6 events, though the court did not suggest Epps himself was one of them. Epps originally filed his defamation lawsuit against Fox News in Delaware Superior Court in 2023, asserting state-law claims for defamation and false light stemming from Carlson's broadcasts about Epps and the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Related: Ray Epps 08/09/2025 Bill Barr Held Secret Meetings to Plot Prosecutions of Trump and Block His Political Comeback (VIDEO) Ray Epps 07/29/2025 A Lead J6 Inquisitor Gets the Ax--Then Whines to the Media Ray Epps 04/04/2025 Revealed: Corrupt DOJ Pressured At Least Two Jan 6ers to Lie About Ray Epps and Punished Them When They Refused Related: Jan. 6 05/05/2026 Judge [Zia Faruqui] apologizes to alleged would-be Trump assassin, drags Jan 6 suspects into rant over jail complaints Jan. 6 04/24/2026 Army soldier involved in Maduro capture arrested for allegedly using classified intel to win $410K in bets Jan. 6 04/19/2026 Jeff Childers: Justice Department moves to dismiss Proud Boys and Oath Keepers’ seditious conspiracy convictions. |
| Posted by:Frank G |
| #1 |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2026-05-11 20:45 |