Federal Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil has ruled in favor of Fox News, tossing a defamation complaint filed by former Playboy model Karen McDougal over remarks made by @TuckerCarlson in December 2018. 1/
@TuckerCarlson On his show, Carlson accused McDougal of "extortion" vis-a-vis President Trump over a hush payment she'd received from the National Enquirer's parent company so that she wouldn't talk about her affair with Trump. 2/
In addition to alleging "extortion," Carlson said that McDougal "approached Donald Trump and threatened to ruin his career and humiliate his family if he doesn’t give them money." It didn't happen that way. 3/
In any case, Vyskocil ruled that Carlson's commentary constituted "nonactionable hyperbole" and was protected under the First Amendment's shield for raucous public debate. 4/
A key portion of the opinion notes that viewers know, or perhaps should know, not to take too seriously anything that Carlson says. 5/
Statement from Fox News:
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