Jeanine Pirro scored a
legal victory winning civil case when suit was brought against her by undoubtedly
Marxist Black Live Matter (BLM) DeRay McKesson for defamation.
Perhaps Fox News should pay attention
to the Free Speech ruling and make sure Judge Jeanine returns.
********************
Black Lives Matter Leader Loses Lawsuit Against Fox News
Host Jeanine Pirro
By Jack Davis
Published March 27, 2019 at 5:12am
Modified March 27, 2019 at 5:16am
Modified March 27, 2019 at 5:16am
The
Western Journal (WJ)
Fox News host Jeanine Pirro has scored a courtroom victory
over Black Lives Matter activist DeRay McKesson, whose defamation lawsuit
against Pirro has been dismissed.
During a 2017 broadcast about injuries suffered by a Baton
Rouge, Louisiana, police officer, Pirro said that McKesson “was directing”
violence against the officer. McKesson then sued.
According to his decision,
New York State Supreme Court Justice Robert Kalish, sitting in Manhattan, said
Pirro had the right to express her opinion.
In his ruling, he said Pirro’s own lawyer labeled her style “loud,
caustic and hard hitting.”
“Pirro’s lack of temperament, and caustic commentary is what
she is known, celebrated and frequently criticized for,” Kalish wrote.
“However divisive one might find the subject two-minute sequence,
the law of this state protects the expressions of opinion it represents,” he
ruled.
Further, Kalish wrote that much of what Pirro said was based
on a lawsuit filed by the injured officer, who has sued McKesson.
“(T)his Court finds that Pirro’s statement’s describing the
(lawsuit) qualify as a substantially accurate report of a judicial proceeding
and therefore are absolutely privileged from liability for defamation,” the
ruling said.
Kalish also said that taken as a whole, Pirro did nothing
for which she could be sued, although some of her statements were not fully
accurate.
“Moreover, although the statement that the plaintiff-officer
‘was injured at the direction of DeRay McKesson’ may cause a reader to believe
such if it is read in isolation, viewing the entire video sequence as a whole
it is clear that Pirro is expressing her opinion that the plaintiff-officer
should be allowed to pursue his civil complaint against McKesson on the theory
that McKesson may be held liable for the violent events that occurred during a
demonstration that he allegedly led considering the allegations of the
plaintiff-officer,” Kalish ruled.
Black Lives Matter activist McKesson loses defamation lawsuit against Fox's Pirro https://t.co/Y6UhGllSGk pic.twitter.com/zDpbhlUEjx— The Hill (@thehill) March 26, 2019
Kalish wanted to be sure his opinion was not read as an
endorsement of Pirro.
“That the Court find’s Pirro statement’s to be protected
statements of opinion does not mean this Court agrees with Pirro’s opinions or
condones her behavior or rhetoric. This Court is not blind to the undertones in
this segment,” Kalish wrote.
Kalish had revealed he was no fan of Pirro’s last year
during a hearing on the case, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“She was a judge. She was a former district attorney,”
Kalish said then. “You’d think she’d understand what we are dealing with. …
You’d think she would give a very clear and accurate statement. You’d think
she’d know better.”
McKesson, who calls himself a
“leading voice of the Black Lives Matter movement, greeted the news of the
dismissal of the case with a jab at Pirro.
“I’m obviously disappointed. But as Fox argued and the judge
recognized, when you have a certain reputation, less is expected of you,”
McKesson said, according to the New
York Daily News reported.
In his ruling, Kalish noted Pirro had
been suspended by Fox News, which had “no bearing” on the case.
Pirro was suspended by
Fox after comments she made about Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar.
She has missed the last two shows. Fox has not said if she
will return on Saturday.
___________________
Jack Davis is a freelance
writer who joined The Western Journal
in July 2015 and chronicled the campaign that saw President Donald Trump
elected. Since then, he has written extensively for The Western Journal on the
Trump administration as well as foreign policy and military issues.
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