{"id":2109930,"date":"2023-11-28T13:59:02","date_gmt":"2023-11-28T18:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/court-says-media-outlets-defamed-conservative-economist-orders-them-to-pay-massive-settlement\/"},"modified":"2023-11-28T14:03:47","modified_gmt":"2023-11-28T19:03:47","slug":"court-says-media-outlets-defamed-conservative-economist-orders-them-to-pay-massive-settlement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/court-says-media-outlets-defamed-conservative-economist-orders-them-to-pay-massive-settlement\/","title":{"rendered":"Media outlets found guilty of defaming conservative economist, ordered to pay substantial settlement by court"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcourt-says-media-outlets-defamed-conservative-economist-orders-them-to-pay-massive-settlement%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2109930&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>An \u2063Australian Judge Orders\u2062 Media Outlets\u2063 to Pay Economist Peter Schiff for Defamation<\/h2>\n<p>An Australian judge \u2064has \u2063ruled that two \u2064media outlets must pay American economist Peter Schiff over half a million dollars for defaming him. This decision is the latest\u200d development in a bizarre scandal involving the IRS and five other\u2062 governments, who collaborated to target\u200c Schiff,\u2064 a frequent guest on conservative media, in what has \u200dbeen called the &#8220;biggest tax\u2064 evasion investigation in the world.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The investigation focused on a\u2064 bank\u2064 in\u2064 Puerto Rico that Schiff ran, but despite exhaustive scrutiny, authorities failed to find any evidence of \u200cwrongdoing. However, the existence of the investigation was leaked to the New \u200dYork Times and Australian media \u2062outlets The\u2063 Age and 60 \u2064Minutes, both owned by\u200c Australian\u2062 media giant Nine. These journalists interpreted Schiff&#8217;s advocacy for low-tax policies as proof that \u2062he\u2063 was breaking the law.<\/p>\n<p>The media coverage of\u2064 the baseless investigation had disastrous \u200cconsequences for Schiff&#8217;s bank, ultimately leading to its \u2063closure by \u2062a Puerto Rican regulator. The\u2063 IRS falsely claimed \u2062credit for the closure, \u200calleging money laundering \u2064and tax evasion, even though their investigation found no evidence to support these \u200dcharges.<\/p>\n<p>It appears \u2064that tax agents collaborated closely with the media during \u200da press conference. The New York Times \u200dlearned about the\u2064 bank&#8217;s closure before Schiff did. There are suspicions that officials may have violated the law by disclosing the existence of a grand\u200c jury to reporters. Faced with limited options for recourse against the \u2064U.S. \u200dgovernment, Schiff decided to sue the journalists \u2064in an Australian court.<\/p>\n<p>In his lawsuit, Schiff named The \u200bAge, \u206460 Minutes, and\u200b two reporters, Charlotte Grieve \u200cand Nick McKenzie, \u200dwho were involved in producing \u200ca defamatory\u200b video \u200bsegment and\u200c article. The judge \u200druled that the\u200b television segment was defamatory, but\u2064 the article was not.<\/p>\n<p>The Australian \u200cjournalists strongly implied that Schiff was guilty of money laundering \u2063and tax evasion, using the case to argue for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/its-none-of-the-cfpbs-business-sen-kennedy-decries-new-woke-lending-rule-for-small-business\/\" title=\"Sen. Kennedy opposes CFPB's 'woke' lending rule for small businesses.\">increased financial regulation<\/a>. This\u200c narrative conveniently aligned with\u2064 some Australian politicians&#8217; efforts to pass a law granting \u200bthe government more power to monitor people&#8217;s finances, making Schiff the scapegoat.<\/p>\n<p>During the discovery process of the lawsuit, evidence emerged revealing \u2064the inner workings of major media outlets and their determination to portray Schiff&#8217;s bank,\u200d Euro Pacific, in a\u2064 negative \u2064light. Interview notes and \u200btranscripts showed that sources often confirmed the bank&#8217;s compliance, but the journalists used deceptive \u2064editing techniques to create a false impression.<\/p>\n<p>The 60 Minutes\u200d segment suggested that Euro Pacific Bank\u2064 facilitated money laundering, tax evasion, and criminal activities,\u200c claiming that the bank had lax client \u2063vetting procedures. However,\u2062 one confidential source, a former customer, revealed that opening an account with the bank took extensive time and scrutiny. Other\u200d sources, including former employees, attested \u2063to the bank&#8217;s strong anti-money laundering measures.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, the journalists attempted to open an account with a\u200d financial \u2062services company\u200c owned by Schiff but were rejected due to the bank&#8217;s adherence to regulations. They \u2063also secured\u2064 an interview\u2063 with Schiff under false \u200dpretenses and used the existence of\u2063 the investigation as evidence of guilt.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the weak attempts\u200b to link Schiff&#8217;s bank to\u200b criminals, the journalists even targeted an individual who had only been questioned by police in Thailand but was never charged with any crime. This individual had later used an account with Euro Pacific Bank for ordinary \u200cexpenses. The customer informed the journalists that the bank had thoroughly vetted him and had no reason to be aware of his brief interaction with the police.<\/p>\n<p>After the judge issued the defamation \u200ddamages order, the media outlets sought an\u200d emergency injunction to prevent the public from seeing the full \u200cinterviews \u200cwith their sources. However, they withdrew the request when\u200d the judge indicated that it would reflect poorly on their journalistic ethics.<\/p>\n<p>Following the ruling, McKenzie received a prestigious journalism award, and the Walkley Foundation named a new investigative journalism award\u200c after him. Grieve also won a\u200b journalism award for her coverage of Schiff&#8217;s bank.<\/p>\n<p>In response\u2062 to the ruling, Nine Media, the \u2064parent company of The Age and 60 Minutes, remained unapologetic. They acknowledged that the court found their program conveyed unintended meanings but cited the limitations of \u2064defamation \u200dlaw in Australia and\u200b defended their reporting on the Euro Pacific Bank, which they claimed was the target of\u2064 a massive tax evasion probe and had\u2062 suffered regulatory failures.<\/p>\n<p>The Puerto Rican regulator, who \u2063initially claimed that the bank was &#8220;critically insolvent&#8221; and seized it from Schiff, \u200dlater admitted that the bank had \u2062enough \u200dcash to cover all deposits. The regulator clarified that the\u2064 action was not based on allegations of money\u200c laundering or other financial crimes.<\/p>\n<p>During a press conference, the IRS&#8217; Chief of Criminal Investigation, Jim Lee, attempted to take credit for the investigation, but when\u2063 asked if Schiff was being investigated, he refused to disclose any information. Schiff believes that Lee&#8217;s\u2062 confirmation of the investigation at the \u2063press conference supports\u200d the theory that the IRS illegally leaked \u2063the probe to the media.<\/p>\n<p>Schiff\u2064 argues that the government, in collaboration with compliant \u200cmedia outlets, \u2062targeted him to destroy his reputation and his bank. He emphasizes that the IRS \u200dfailed to find \u2062any evidence\u2064 of wrongdoing but\u2064 still used the media\u200d to \u2063inflict significant damage. \u2062Schiff\u2062 also highlights the lack\u2064 of accountability from both \u200dthe IRS and the media, warning that if they can do this to someone with his resources, they can do it to \u200canyone.<\/p>\n<p>While Schiff sees the media outlets&#8217; accountability as a \u200bpositive step, he urges \u200dpeople to\u2063 be critical of \u2064what\u2064 they see on TV and to recognize the behind-the-scenes manipulation that occurs.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, this case sheds light on the dangerous collusion between government agencies and the media,\u2062 highlighting the need for transparency \u2063and accountability in both sectors.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/the-government-can-destroy-anyone-how-an-irs-led-global-alliance-ruined-an-innocent-american-banker\">\u2018The Government Can Destroy \u200dAnyone\u2019: How\u2063 An\u200c IRS-Led Global Alliance Ruined An Innocent American Banker<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> What are \u2064the potential limitations of defamation laws highlighted in this case and what\u200c measures \u200cmay be necessary to ensure fair and accurate reporting\u200c in the future<\/h2>\n<p><span>  As the reason they\u200c were held responsible. They expressed disappointment with the verdict but stated that they respect the court&#8217;s decision.<\/p>\n<p>Schiff, on the other hand, sees \u200bthe \u2064ruling as a significant victory. He believes that\u2062 it exposes the collusion between the media and government agencies in targeting him, thus vindicating his reputation. He hopes that \u200bthis case serves as a deterrent to\u200c future instances of media\u2063 defamation, particularly those driven\u2063 by political agendas.<\/p>\n<p>This <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-pauses-restrictions-on-biden-admin-contacting-social-media-companies\/\" title=\"Supreme Court halts limits on Biden Admin's communication with social media firms.\">case raises important questions<\/a> about the role of\u2062 the media in \u200dfacilitating or perpetuating false narratives. It highlights\u200d the potential for media bias and the dangers of journalists overstepping their\u200d boundaries in the\u2064 pursuit of\u2062 sensationalism. The media&#8217;s responsibility to report \u200cobjectively and\u2064 ethically should be paramount, and instances \u200dof defamation should be treated seriously.<\/p>\n<p>While this ruling is\u200b a step in the right direction for holding the media accountable, it is essential to acknowledge the potential limitations of defamation\u2064 laws. In this case,\u2063 the judge ruled \u200cthat the television segment was defamatory, but the article\u2062 wasn&#8217;t. This discrepancy highlights the complexities and subjectivity involved in \u200bdetermining defamation. Stricter regulations and clearer guidelines may be necessary to ensure fair and accurate reporting.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, this case serves \u2064as a\u200c cautionary tale for media outlets and journalists. It underscores the importance of responsible journalism and the potential consequences of disseminating false or defamatory information. It also emphasizes the need for thorough investigations, fact-checking, and unbiased reporting to maintain credibility and uphold the\u2064 principles of ethical journalism.<\/p>\n<p>As for Peter Schiff, \u200dthis victory brings some measure \u2063of vindication and validation to his \u200dreputation, which was \u2062unjustly tarnished by baseless allegations. It serves as a reminder that standing up against defamation, no \u2062matter how powerful the entities involved, can lead\u2064 to \u200cjustice.<\/p>\n<p>In \u2064conclusion, the Australian judge&#8217;s decision to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/at-the-new-york-times-praising-hitler-is-fine-but-running-republican-op-eds-gets-you-the-boot\/\" title=\"NY Times: Hitler Praise Allowed, Republican Op-Eds Banned\">hold media outlets accountable<\/a> for\u200d defaming economist Peter Schiff is a significant development in a case\u2063 that exposed collusion and false narratives perpetuated by both\u2064 the media and government\u200b agencies. This ruling highlights the importance of responsible and accurate \u2062reporting and the potential consequences of defamation. \u2063It also \u200cserves as a reminder of the\u2062 need for stricter \u2062regulations and clearer guidelines to uphold ethical journalism. Ultimately, this\u2063 case brings some measure of vindication to Peter Schiff \u200dand underscores the\u2062 importance of\u200b standing up against defamation to\u200d preserve one&#8217;s reputation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An Australian judge has ruled that two media outlets must pay economist Peter Schiff over $500,000 for defaming him. This adds to the ongoing fallout of a peculiar scandal involving the IRS and five other governments targeting Schiff, a regular guest on conservative media platforms<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":128,"featured_media":2109931,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2109930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2109930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/128"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2109930"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2109930\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2109931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2109930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2109930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2109930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}