Wow, Rupert Murdoch Is Fox News’ Own Worst Witness

INSIDE: Kevin McCarthy ... Andy Ogles ... Ron DeSantis

(Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.

Pass The Effing Popcorn

Dominion Voting Systems is absolutely going to town on Fox News in its billion-dollar defamation suit, and it’s using the network’s 91-year-old billionaire mogul as cannon fodder in the effort.

Rupert Murdoch’s own recent deposition testimony turned out to be absolutely devastating for the crown jewel of his media empire.

In a new filing in the case yesterday that mirrored but also expanded upon some of Dominion’s most eye-popping revelations from a week and a half ago, Murdoch emerges as making one damning admission after another. Let’s run through the best bits:

Did Murdoch Believe The Bogus Claims Against Dominion? No, He Did Not

Erik Larson @eelarson

“It is fair to say you seriously doubted any claim of massive election fraud?” Murdoch was asked by a Dominion lawyer at his deposition. “Oh, yes,” Murdoch said. “And you seriously doubted it from the very beginning?” he was asked. “Yes,” Murdoch said

bloomberg.comBloomberg - Are you a robot?

Murdoch Gave Jared Kushner Sneak Peek At Biden Ads!

Matthew Gertz @MattGertz

Rupert Murdoch gave Trump son-in-law/aide Jared Kushner access to "Fox confidential information about Biden's ads," apparently showing them to him before they were public.

Murdoch Admits Fox News Hosts ‘Endorsed’ Bogus Dominion Claims

This admission undermines Fox News neutral report defense:

Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1

BREAKING: A new Dominion court filing shows that Fox's Rupert Murdoch admitted in his under oath deposition that Fox hosts endorsed the false notion of a stolen election.

Murdoch Is All About That Green

Matthew Gertz @MattGertz

"When asked why Fox continues to give a platform to Lindell—who continues to this day to spout lies about Dominion— Murdoch agreed that 'It is not red or blue, it is green.'”

Fox Board Member Paul Ryan Warned The Murdochs

Matthew Gertz @MattGertz

Fox board member Paul Ryan 'told Rupert and Lachlan “that Fox News should not be spreading conspiracy theories.” '

The Dominion case really is starting to look like not just a landmark legal case but perhaps a watershed historical moment. The American descent towards authoritarianism, minority rule, and insurrection doesn’t happen without Fox News. It doesn’t happen only because of Fox News, but it’s been a critical ingredient in the toxic stew of misinformation, grievance, and division.

Didn’t See This Coming

Signs emerged yesterday that House Republicans as a whole aren’t completely onboard with Speaker McCarthy’s wholesale turning over of the Jan. 6 surveillance footage to Tucker Carlson.

I want to be careful about not overstating what’s going on here, because it’s subtle.

On the surface, some House GOPers seem concerned about the security implications, or at least the public perceptions involved. You can see that new wobbliness even from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA):

Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney

This is at odds with her previously stated position of “release it all.”

Alayna Treene @alaynatreene

“We can't give away our national security,” Greene said, “everyone in Congress agrees. And I think the American people agree. We don't want Russia or China or any of these other countries being able to study all the entries and exits of our capital. That's foolish"

Another dynamic, which I find more amusing than telling, is that some astute House GOPers are concerned about another round of extensive media coverage of footage showing the violent attack on the Capitol, according to CNN. You might say there’s only so much laundering and manipulating of the footage that Tucker Carlson can do. The insurrection is still a bad look for Republicans! Laugh or cry. Your choice.

A final dynamic here is the issue of Carlson being the only one with access. Many major media outlets have been clamoring for access to all the footage for years now. Some House Republicans seem to favor a wider release than the one McCarthy has orchestrated so far. Just keep in mind, though, that may not be as much about opening up the footage to more mainstream news outlets, but also to the news and propaganda operations to the right of Fox News.

Santos Wannabe Kinda Sorta Comes Clean

Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) copped to some but not all of his falsehoods about his resume and background in a new statement Monday.

DeSantis Completes Takeover Of Disney

This remains such a wild story on so many levels. Disney with its own special taxing district in Florida that it controlled singlehandedly for decades. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) asserting his own power over the district to punish Disney in a performative way for its “wokeness” sins in opposing his “Don’t Say Gay” law. Now DeSantis appointing conservative firebrands and his own donors to the board overseeing the district and making noises about having a say in Disney content.

Blast From The Past

The Senate is working towards repealing the AUMFs for Iraq from 1991 and 2002, Punchbowl reports. The measure is expected to win majority support in the House, too. But rather than representing some kind of historic reckoning, it just reinforces Congress’ self-imposed irrelevance in matters of war and peace. Congress finally acting now just shows it’s an ongoing problem, not some moment of epiphany.

SCOTUS Takes Up Biden Student Debt Relief Plan

Oral arguments today before a conservative Supreme Court generally considered hostile to President Biden’s student loan debt relief plan.

2024 Ephemera

• Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) launched her Senate campaign for the seat being vacated by the retiring Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).

• Aaron Blake: The inevitable — and imminent — Trump-DeSantis war

• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2024 presidential campaign “emerges from the shadows.”

• Paul Ryan says he will not attend the Republican national convention in 2024 if Donald Trump is the nominee.

Fox News Being Fox News

Justin Baragona @justinbaragona

Saying this on Hannity’s show hours after another Dominion filing was unsealed is quite a flex.

Acyn @Acyn

Cruz: As I sit here and listen to those folks on TV and read those headlines, it makes me angry. Because they're lying. They're deliberately lying. They knew they were lying. https://t.co/alUPP14w2D

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