In this dark political era, it鈥檚 good to pause and appreciate what little sunshine penetrates the gloom. News this week that the right-wing disinformation site The Gateway Pundit has filed for bankruptcy is a bright ray. Though not necessarily as bright as it might appear at first glance.
Before there is too much popping of champagne corks over the richly deserved troubles of this monstrous purveyor of slander and lies, it鈥檚 important to keep in mind that bankruptcy is ultimately just a legal strategy 鈥 one that could, if deftly abused, help the site avoid or at least postpone the crippling defamation judgments potentially headed its way. Dodging that justice is, pretty clearly, the whole point.
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That doesn鈥檛 mean it will work. And it doesn鈥檛 mean a few fist-pumps aren鈥檛 in order from anyone with an ounce of character and conscience. No one files for bankruptcy when everything is going great. And the worse things are going for The Gateway Pundit, the better it is for truth, decency and democracy.
Founded by right-wing blogger Jim Hoft two decades ago in the St. Louis area (鈥淕ateway鈥 refers to the Arch), the site has since become a national shame to our city, peddling hoaxes, conspiracy theories and toxic lies.
Naturally, it is a fervent supporter of former President Donald Trump.
It was in service to Trump鈥檚 Big Lie of a stolen 2020 presidential election that the website made baseless allegations of ballot fraud against Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea Moss.
The mother and daughter The Gateway Pundit in 2021, saying the site鈥檚 lies had sparked a 鈥渄eluge鈥 of harassments and threats from Trump supporters, forcing them to change their phone numbers, delete their online accounts and take other steps to ensure their safety.
The site has plenty to fear from the pair, who last year won a $148 million judgment from former Trump lawyer Rudolph Giuliani for similar lies.
In the media sewer occupied by The Gateway Pundit and its ilk, defamation suits are common. The site has settled one with a former executive of Dominion Voting Systems 鈥 the same company that last year won a landmark settlement of more than $780 million from Fox News for the network鈥檚 promotion of lies about its vote-counting machines.
With the election workers鈥 suit against his own company still pending, Hoft announced on his site Wednesday that The Gateway Pundit鈥檚 parent company, TGP Communications, had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
鈥淭his is not an admission of fault or culpability,鈥 he wrote, but is meant to 鈥渃onsolidate litigation when attacks are coming from all sides.鈥
He chalked that litigation up to 鈥渢he radical left鈥檚 efforts to silence The Gateway Pundit.鈥
Whatever.
The bankruptcy filing is clearly a pre-emptive move in hopes of avoiding having to eventually pay a huge, well-deserved judgment to the election workers. Luckily, though, courts have leeway on issues like this.
Fellow professional liar tried the same bankruptcy tactic to get out of paying a $1.1 billion judgment for his unfathomably cruel lies about the children killed in the Sandy Hook massacre. But a Texas judge last year wouldn鈥檛 allow it, finding that bankruptcy cannot protect conduct that is 鈥渨illful and malicious.鈥 Which is the very definition of The Gateway Pundit.
Of course, the ultimate and most appropriate punishment for Hoft and his virtual garbage dump would be if everyone simply stopped reading.
Happily, the site鈥檚 traffic is significantly down lately, according to an in February. Until its remaining readers come to their senses, it鈥檚 incumbent upon the Florida court where the site has filed for its bankruptcy to ensure it isn鈥檛 allowed to abuse that process in order to escape justice.