(Discern Report)—The absurd judgment calling on Rudy Giuliani to pay $148 million for defamation of Georgia election workers has prompted many responses from conservatives in both media and social media. But one response stood out as the most fitting for a verdict that is unambiguously ludicrous.
The Gateway Pundit and its leaders, Jim and Joe Hoft, are also being sued for their coverage of demonstrable voter fraud during the 2020 election. When their attorney was asked to comment, his response was likely not what the Missouri Independent expected:
The Hofts are represented by the Las Vegas law firm of Marc Randazza, who in the past has represented numerous far-right figures, including Alex Jones of InfoWars and Andrew Anglin of the neo-Nazi website the Daily Stormer.
Asked by email Friday morning about the statements by Giuliani’s attorney, Randazza shared facts about domesticated vegetables in Mesoamerica.
That’s one way to demonstrate how detached from reality these lawsuits really are.
Amusement aside, this is a serious development on many fronts. Giuliani is essential facing a “financial death penalty” for acting on behalf of his client. That alone makes the verdict questionable because the video footage that has been shared with the public drew questions from both the right and the left. The circumstances surrounding the breach of procedures would be enough for any lawyer worth their retainer to question the legitimacy of the count.
As for The Gateway Pundit, they were acting as opinionated journalists drawing reasonable conclusions based on the evidence they presented. Their argument is that any stories published by the Gateway Pundit regarding Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss were “either statements of opinion based on disclosed facts or statements of rhetorical hyperbole that no reasonable reader is likely to interpret as a literal statement of fact.”
Both cases are nails being hammered by the Deep State to permanently bury the stolen 2020 election. Giuliani and the Hofts are just the latest examples being used to send a message to anyone questioning the legitimacy of the election. The message is this: If an attorney for the victim and respected journalists cannot make the case without being punished, then no American can.
Sound off about this story on my Substack.
Independent Journalism Is Dying
Ever since President Trump’s miraculous victory, we’ve heard an incessant drumbeat about how legacy media is dying. This is true. The people have awakened to the reality that they’re being lied to by the self-proclaimed “Arbiters of Truth” for the sake of political expediency, corporate self-protection, and globalist ambitions.
But even as independent journalism rises to fill the void left by legacy media, there is still a huge challenge. Those at the top of independent media like Joe Rogan, Dan Bongino, and Tucker Carlson are thriving and rightly so. They have earned their audience and the financial rewards that come from it. They’ve taken risks and worked hard to get to where they are.
For “the rest of us,” legacy media and their proxies are making it exceptionally difficult to survive, let alone thrive. They still have a stranglehold over the “fact checkers” who have a dramatic impact on readership and viewership. YouTube, Facebook, and Google still stifle us. The freer speech platforms like Rumble and 𝕏 can only reward so many of their popular content creators. For independent journalists on the outside looking in, our only recourse is to rely on affiliates and sponsors.
But even as it seems nearly impossible to make a living, there are blessings that should not be disregarded. By highlighting strong sponsors who share our America First worldview, we have been able to make lifelong connections and even a bit of revenue to help us along. This is why we enjoy symbiotic relationships with companies like MyPillow, Jase Medical, and Promised Grounds. We help them with our recommendations and they reward us with money when our audience buys from them.
The same can be said about our preparedness sponsor, Prepper All-Naturals. Their long-term storage beef has a 25-year shelf life and is made with one ingredient: All-American Beef.
Even our faith-driven precious metals sponsor helps us tremendously while also helping Americans protect their life’s savings. We are blessed to work with them.
Independent media is the future. In many ways, that future is already here. While the phrase, “the more the merrier,” does not apply to this business because there are still some bad actors in the independent media field, there are many great ones that do not get nearly enough attention. We hope to change that one content creator at a time.
Thank you and God Bless,
JD Rucker
