Hackers release corporate data stolen from London Drugs
Retailer London Drugs says cybercriminals who stole files from its corporate head office last month have released some of the data after it refused to pay a ransom.
A defamation lawsuit is revealing blunt behind-the-scenes opinions by Fox News figures about Donald Trump, including a Tucker Carlson text message where he said, "I hate him passionately."
Carlson's private text conversation was revealed in court papers at virtually the same time that the former president was hailing the Fox News host on social media. Trump said he was doing a "great job" in presenting excerpts of U.S. Capitol security video of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection -- though Carlson used the video to produce a false narrative of the attack.
The documents are also coming to light at a time of increased tension between Trump and the dominant media force appealing to conservatives as he campaigns to regain the presidency.
Voting machine manufacturer Dominion Voting Systems is suing Fox News for US$1.6 billion, claiming the network broadcast false claims that the company was responsible for fraud in the 2020 presidential election. The case is to go to trial this spring, and a trove of documents related to Fox's actions after the election are being publicly released in advance.
A common theme emerging from the internal documents and depositions is that Fox executives and hosts doubted the election claims being peddled by Trump and his allies, but aired and emphasized them anyway. Fox was growing concerned about a decline in viewership as Trump supporters turned away from the network after it -- correctly -- called Joe Biden the presidential winner in Arizona on election night.
The exchanges include Carlson's text conversation on Jan. 4, 2021, with an unknown person, in which the prime-time host expressed anger toward Trump.
Carlson said that "we are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights" and that "I truly can't wait."
Carlson said he had no doubt that there was fraud in the 2020 election, but that Trump and his lawyers had so discredited their case -- and media figures like himself -- "that it's infuriating. Absolutely enrages me."
Federal and state officials, courts, exhaustive reviews in battleground states and Trump's attorney general found no widespread fraud that could have changed the outcome of the 2020 election, although Trump continues to falsely state that the presidency was stolen from him.
Addressing Trump's four years as president, Carlson said, "We're all pretending we've got a lot to show for it, because admitting what a disaster it's been is too tough to digest. But come on. There really isn't an upside to Trump."
In another text exchange more than a month earlier, Carlson denigrated Trump's business abilities: Trump's talent, he said, is to "destroy things. He could easily destroy us if we play it wrong."
Fox, in response to these and other court exhibits that were released late Tuesday, said that "Dominion has been caught red handed using more distortions and misinformation in their PR campaign to smear Fox News and trample on free speech and freedom of the press. We already know they will say and do anything to try to win this case, but to twist and even misattribute quotes to the highest levels of our company is truly beyond the pale."
Fox's founder, Rupert Murdoch, has a complex relationship with Trump: "I was not close to him," Murdoch said in a deposition in the libel lawsuit.
Indeed, though Murdoch acknowledged talking to Trump occasionally, he said he also sought inside information from Sean Hannity, one of his network's primetime hosts, because Hannity was the closest person at Fox to Trump.
Following Trump's loss in November of 2020, Murdoch despaired of the president's behaviour.
"The real danger is what he might do as president," Murdoch wrote in an email to a friend that month. "Apparently not sleeping and bouncing off walls! Don't know about Melania, but kids no help."
But Murdoch told his network's officials that he also didn't want to "antagonize" Trump: "He had a very large following, and they were probably mostly viewers of Fox, so it would have been stupid," Murdoch said in a deposition in the Dominion case.
In separate questioning in the case, Murdoch acknowledged that he believed the 2020 presidential election " was not stolen."
On social media recently, Trump was critical of Fox when other court papers released in the Dominion case made clear that a number of the network's executives and personalities privately believed the election fraud claims were bunk.
Trump and his team also have accused Fox of giving his latest campaign for the presidency little attention and favouring a potential challenger for the GOP nomination, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
In a fiery speech at the Conservative Political Action Committee last week, Trump ally Steve Bannon complained that Fox had disrespected the former president.
"You've deemed Trump's not going to be president," Bannon said. "Well, we deem you're not going to have a network."
On Saturday afternoon. Fox News aired Trump's speech to CPAC in its entirety.
------
Riccardi reported from Denver. Associated Press writers Christina A. Cassidy in Atlanta, Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix, Gary Fields in Washington and Jennifer Peltz in New York contributed to this report.
Retailer London Drugs says cybercriminals who stole files from its corporate head office last month have released some of the data after it refused to pay a ransom.
A Toronto man who won $70 million in a recent Lotto Max draw literally fell off his chair when he saw the funds in his bank account.
Approximately 50 Montreal-area students — the vast majority of them female — were suspended Wednesday after their school deemed the shorts they were wearing were too short. On Thursday, several students staged a walk-out to protest what they believe is a "sexist" dress code that unfairly targets girls.
Connor McDavid tipped Evan Bouchard's shot from the boards past Dallas Stars goalie Jake Oettinger 32 seconds into the second overtime to give the Edmonton Oilers a 3-2 win in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final..
Something shifted in the pretty little village of Lumby, B.C., after Tatjana Stefanski vanished. It used to be the sort of place where parents let their kids roam free or play in the local creek, but everything has changed.
Despite its rough name, experts say most cases of 'slapped cheek disease' are mild and not a cause for concern.
American Airlines has distanced itself from a court filing in which the carrier said a nine-year-old girl should have noticed there was a camera taped to the seat of an airplane lavatory.
Canadian soldiers and government officials arrived in northeastern France this week for a historic mission: returning an unknown Newfoundland soldier back home.
The Calgary Philharmonic has confirmed its taking action after controversial online comments made by two members of the orchestra.
The proprietors of Regina's sole discount theatre are aware they're carrying on a significant legacy.
When Jujhar Mann said he wanted to be a pastry chef on a grade school career project, he didn't imagine that pursuing his dream would land him on a popular Netflix baking competition.
A city known for its history, ties to outer space and southern barbecue, is also home to a Winnipeg chef dishing out dozens of perogies.
A Montreal photographer captured the moment a Canada goose defended itself from a fox at the Botanical Garden.
Public libraries in Atlantic Canada are now lending a broader range of items.
Flashes of purple darting across the sky mixed with the serenading sound of songs will be noticed more with spring in full force in Manitoba.
Catching 'em all with impressive speed, a 7-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. who only started his competitive Pokémon journey seven months ago has already levelled up to compete at a world championship level.
A sanctuary dedicated to animals with disabilities is celebrating the third birthday of one of its most popular residents.
2b Theatre recently moved into the old Video Difference building, seeking to transform it into an artistic hub, meeting space, and temporary housing unit for visiting performers in Halifax.