So I Guess Their "Simpsons" Defense Wasn't As Good As They Thought It Would Be?

‘Fox Has Admitted to Telling Lies’: Dominion Touts $787.5 Million Settlement as ‘Vindication and Accountability’ https://t.co/oyR9uz9Ukj

— Sarah Rumpf (@rumpfshaker) April 18, 2023

Three quarters of a billion dollars of shareholder money, all so they could spread Trump’s insane lies.

Good job Tucker, Sean, Laura, Maria, and most of all, Rupert.

Big congrats. https://t.co/onKnBi1UoI

— S.V. Dáte (@svdate) April 18, 2023

I don't think the shareholders are going to feel it.

No doubt many people (including me) hoped for a a full trial and verdict. But there was simply no way, as a matter of business judgment, Fox could allow the case to go to trial.

The sum would be staggering in virtually any case. It’s especially so in a defamation case. https://t.co/F8HAEDNtOu

— George Conway🌻 (@gtconway3d) April 18, 2023

The key here is Fox agreed to pay. No trial; no verdict; no appeals and bonds on appeal suspending judgment and collection. Hard cash, paid out now (or, you know, soon). And there's still Smartmatic:

Smartmatic remains committed to clearing its name, recouping the significant damage done to the company, and holding Fox accountable for undermining democracy.” 2/2

— Ben Smith (@semaforben) April 18, 2023

Translated from the lawyerspeak: Smartmatic wants its pound of flesh, too.

And the people bewailing this settlement are imagining some kind of Aaron Sorkin courtroom production they'd never get.  Real trials are tedious and boring and you know all the good parts of this one already.  In retrospect the settlement was never in doubt; the only question was the number Dominion would take to go away.  The damage to FoxNews has been done already.  This is as good as reality gets.

Fox News: The country can move on, and now we go back to our coverage of candidate Trump.

— Schooley (@Rschooley) April 18, 2023

Granted, reality is a bit of a dead fish.

What are the chances they floated two numbers and the much higher one required no on air acknowledgments? https://t.co/Dw2IxbsImt

— Schooley (@Rschooley) April 18, 2023

Fox didn’t acknowledge falsehoods. It acknowledged that the *court* ruled there were falsehoods. That’s like me acknowledging that Trump said he won the election.

— Eric Columbus (@EricColumbus) April 18, 2023

Some people won't be satisfied without that pound of flesh. Of course, outside of literature, one never gets that. Reality is very sorry you are disappointed. But it doesn't give a wet snap, either.

To put things in a different perspective, the $787.5 million settlement is about 87.5% of Dominion owner Staple Street Capital’s $900 million AUM as reported last year.

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) April 18, 2023

In civil court it really is true: "It's money that matters." Besides, we'll always have all those deposition excerpts:

Tapper while reading a statement from Fox: The settlement reflects— I’m sorry, this is going to be difficult to say with a straight face.. this settlement reflects Fox’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards pic.twitter.com/vjUqf08RlI

— Acyn (@Acyn) April 18, 2023