Ray Epps vs. Fox News

[raison de arizona]

Of note, is that this is the same lawyer that scored all that cash for Dominion from Fox.
The lawsuit: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents ... ps-lawsuit
More: https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/12/media/fo ... index.html

[Dave from down under]

Epps is learning the cost of believing Fox and Donnie..

[RTH10260]

crossposting

Arizona Man Cited in Conspiracy Theories Sues Fox News for Defamation
Ray Epps, a two-time Trump voter, says Tucker Carlson repeatedly and falsely named him as a covert government agent who incited the Jan. 6 attack.


By Alan Feuer and Jeremy W. Peters
July 12, 2023 Updated 5:59 p.m. ET

Ray Epps, the man at the center of a widespread conspiracy theory about the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday accusing Fox News and its former host Tucker Carlson of defamation for promoting a “fantastical story” that Mr. Epps was an undercover government agent who instigated the violence at the Capitol as a way to disparage President Donald J. Trump and his supporters.

The complaint was filed in Superior Court in Delaware, where Fox recently agreed to a $787.5 million settlement in a separate defamation case brought by Dominion Voting Systems to combat claims that the company had helped to rig the 2020 election against Mr. Trump.

“Just as Fox had focused on voting machine companies when falsely claiming a rigged election, Fox knew it needed a scapegoat for January 6th,” the complaint says. “It settled on Ray Epps and began promoting the lie that Epps was a federal agent who incited the attack on the Capitol.”




https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/12/busi ... html/quote]

[DrIrvingFinegarten]

I’m sorry about this folks, but as best I can tell, the only evidence Carlson has the Epps is a Fed is that there’s no evidence he isn’t, am I right?

The fact that he hasn’t been arrested, by itself, means nothing.

If he were an agent, wouldn’t there be a paper trail of some sort, something tangible that connects him to the FBI? Payroll records or a contract of some sort?

Do informants work off the books?

[Dave from down under]

IIRC Epps may/will be charged... per para 94 - in May 2023 the DOJ notified him that it intends to seek charges wrt Jan 6.

Other than that the link document if true is pretty damning of Carlson's & Fox's motivations.
It will be interesting to see if there is an out of court settlement

[Dave from down under]

from the above complaint

94. Finally, in May 2023, the Department of Justice notified Epps that it would seek to charge him criminally for events on January 6, 2021—two-and-a-half years later. The relentless attacks by Fox and Mr. Carlson and the resulting political pressure likely resulted in the criminal charges.

95. Although it is difficult to believe that the Department of Justice would have pursued this matter if Fox had not focused its lies on Epps, ultimately the criminal charges conclusively demonstrate the falsehood of the story that Mr. Carlson and Fox told about Epps.

96. Epps was not a federal agent. He was a loyal Fox viewer and Trump supporter. Had the Department of Justice charged Epps in 2021, Mr. Carlson would have hailed Epps a hero. Instead, Fox and Mr. Carlson made Epps the central figure in a lie they concocted about January 6, 2021. After destroying Epps’s reputation and livelihood, Fox will move on to its next story, while Ray and Robyn live in a 350-square foot RV and face harassment and fear true harm. Fox must be held accountable.

[bob]

"If the Feds had ruined my life earlier, then FOX wouldn't have ruined my life later" might cut into damages.

[Slim Cognito]

[Kendra]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... c3031&ei=4

FBI Director Christopher Wray before a House committee on Wednesday. Nehls questioned Wray during the hearing and insisted the FBI should have arrested Ray Epps, who sued Fox News for defamation on Wednesday.

Epps accused the network of promoting the conspiracy theory that he was a government agent who instigated the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the same conspiracy theory promoted by Nehls during Wednesday’s hearing. Notably, Fox’s Steve Doocy did not mention Nehls’s comments regarding Epps while questioning him about Wray’s testimony.

“Now look into the camera, sir, when you answer my next question. Are you going to arrest Mr. Epps, yes or no?” Nehls demanded of Wray during the hearing.

Moar content and video at the link.

[DrIrvingFinegarten]

from the above complaint

94. Finally, in May 2023, the Department of Justice notified Epps that it would seek to charge him criminally for events on January 6, 2021—two-and-a-half years later. The relentless attacks by Fox and Mr. Carlson and the resulting political pressure likely resulted in the criminal charges.

95. Although it is difficult to believe that the Department of Justice would have pursued this matter if Fox had not focused its lies on Epps, ultimately the criminal charges conclusively demonstrate the falsehood of the story that Mr. Carlson and Fox told about Epps.

96. Epps was not a federal agent. He was a loyal Fox viewer and Trump supporter. Had the Department of Justice charged Epps in 2021, Mr. Carlson would have hailed Epps a hero. Instead, Fox and Mr. Carlson made Epps the central figure in a lie they concocted about January 6, 2021. After destroying Epps’s reputation and livelihood, Fox will move on to its next story, while Ray and Robyn live in a 350-square foot RV and face harassment and fear true harm. Fox must be held accountable.

Is the question of why he hasn’t, until now, been charged with anything a legitimate one and can someone really draw an inference that he is an informant?

Also, do informants work off the books or would there be a paper trail of some sort proving their connection with the FBI?

[Dave from down under]

IIRC from the Bundy stealing a wild life refuge saga,

"Feds" work on the book - they are signed up as Confidential Human Sources

you can even read the book here:
https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/ ... %20sources.
The FBI utilizes confidential human source coordinators in the field as trainers to instruct all FBI agents and task force officers regarding compliance with the Attorney General guidelines, the “Confidential Human Source Manual,” and the “Confidential Human Source Validation Manual,” as well as techniques in the identification, assessment, recruitment, and operation of human sources.

https://www.fbi.gov/about/faqs/what-is- ... informants
What is the FBI’s policy on the use of informants?
The courts have recognized that the government’s use of informants is lawful and often essential to the effectiveness of properly authorized law enforcement investigations. However, use of informants to assist in the investigation of criminal activity may involve an element of deception, intrusion into the privacy of individuals, or cooperation with persons whose reliability and motivation may be open to question. Although it is legally permissible for the FBI to use informants in its investigations, special care is taken to carefully evaluate and closely supervise their use so the rights of individuals under investigation are not infringed. The FBI can only use informants consistent with specific guidelines issued by the attorney general that control the use of informants.


-------------
To run them off the book - would be to endanger both the CHS and the FBI.

me: leave the Black Op's to the professionals

[DrIrvingFinegarten]

IIRC from the Bundy stealing a wild life refuge saga,

"Feds" work on the book - they are signed up as Confidential Human Sources

you can even read the book here:
https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/ ... %20sources.
The FBI utilizes confidential human source coordinators in the field as trainers to instruct all FBI agents and task force officers regarding compliance with the Attorney General guidelines, the “Confidential Human Source Manual,” and the “Confidential Human Source Validation Manual,” as well as techniques in the identification, assessment, recruitment, and operation of human sources.

https://www.fbi.gov/about/faqs/what-is- ... informants
What is the FBI’s policy on the use of informants?
The courts have recognized that the government’s use of informants is lawful and often essential to the effectiveness of properly authorized law enforcement investigations. However, use of informants to assist in the investigation of criminal activity may involve an element of deception, intrusion into the privacy of individuals, or cooperation with persons whose reliability and motivation may be open to question. Although it is legally permissible for the FBI to use informants in its investigations, special care is taken to carefully evaluate and closely supervise their use so the rights of individuals under investigation are not infringed. The FBI can only use informants consistent with specific guidelines issued by the attorney general that control the use of informants.


-------------
To run them off the book - would be to endanger both the CHS and the FBI.

me: leave the Black Op's to the professionals

.

So when I ask someone who insists Epps is a fed for tangible evidence, a contract, payroll records, etc., that he is a fed am I setting too high a bar for proof?

Is it enough to claim he must be a fed because he was on video telling people to go into the Capitol and he has yet to be arrested?

[Dave from down under]

You can point to the thousand or more other insurrectionists who haven’t been charged yet.

You can point to Donnie being not yet arrested.

[Dave from down under]

Or you could suggest they join with Tucker and be sued for defamation - then their lawyer will get all the evidence (none) that he was working for the FBI and get the opportunity to pay for that defamation.



Remembering how many hundred of thousands of Americans keep saying the ebil gubermnt should be violent overthrown and yet haven’t been charged.

[DrIrvingFinegarten]

Or you could suggest they join with Tucker and be sued for defamation - then their lawyer will get all the evidence (none) that he was working for the FBI and get the opportunity to pay for that defamation.



Remembering how many hundred of thousands of Americans keep saying the ebil gubermnt should be violent overthrown and yet haven’t been charged.

Exactly.

And yet they think discovery will prove he’s a fed?

[Dave from down under]

What can I say…

They are delusional