Not only did One America News Network’s parent company lose their defamation lawsuit against Rachael Maddow, but now has an anti-SLAPP ruling and compensation added on.
OAN, owned by Herring Networks, initially sued Maddow for $10 million in July 2019 after the MSNBC star said on her show that the Trump-boosting network is “paid Russian propaganda,” calling her remarks “malicious and utterly false.”
Maddow’s comments, however, were based on a Daily Beast story detailing how OAN employs Kristian Rouz, a reporter who simultaneously worked for Kremlin-owned media outlet Sputnik, a well-known purveyor of Russian-backed propaganda. MSNBC’s lawyers, meanwhile, argued Maddow’s remarks were “protected opinion based on disclosed facts,” adding that her commentary “specifically noted” the OAN reporter was paid by Sputnik.
In May 2020, a judge threw out OAN’s defamation suit, with U.S. District Judge Cynthia Bashant ruling that there was no set of facts that could support a claim for defamation based on Maddow’s statement. The judge also noted that OAN never alleged that the facts in the Daily Beast story are defamatory and didn’t dispute any of the underlying facts, which Maddow presented on her program.
After MSNBC and Maddow later asked for the right-wing channel to pay $350,000 in legal fees, the court permanently dismissed the case this past February and awarded MSNBC and Maddow a total of $247,667.50.
At the time of the February ruling, however, OAN president Charles Herring still expressed confidence that he would win on appeal, saying that he was “pleased that the [legal] fees were reduced” by the court.
“The case is currently under appeal and we’re highly confident that we’ll receive a favorable and just ruling in the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit,” he added. Herring’s appeal was also based on the district court ruling in favor of Maddow’s anti-SLAPP motion against OAN.
Not only was that not the case on Tuesday, but OAN may actually have to pay more in legal fees due to dragging out the process in court.
Read the Rachael Maddow anti-SLAPP ruling against One America News Network for yourself here:
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