{"id":555369,"date":"2021-06-07T12:51:31","date_gmt":"2021-06-07T16:51:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=555369"},"modified":"2021-06-07T12:51:36","modified_gmt":"2021-06-07T16:51:36","slug":"katie-hill-democratic-ex-congresswoman-in-throuple-must-pay-conservative-newspaper-105k-after-lawsuit-backfires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/katie-hill-democratic-ex-congresswoman-in-throuple-must-pay-conservative-newspaper-105k-after-lawsuit-backfires\/","title":{"rendered":"Katie Hill, Democratic Ex-Congresswoman In \u2018Throuple\u2019 Must Pay Conservative Newspaper $105K After Lawsuit Backfires"},"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\">28<\/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%2Fkatie-hill-democratic-ex-congresswoman-in-throuple-must-pay-conservative-newspaper-105k-after-lawsuit-backfires%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=555369&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--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Katie-Hill.jpg?w=1200&#038;h=800&#038;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"  style=\"display:none\"><\/div>\n<p>A former Democratic congresswoman has to pay a conservative newspaper more than $100,000 in legal fees after she sued the outlet for publishing nude photos that exposed her bisexual relationship with her then-husband and a female staffer.<\/p>\n<p>In all, former Rep. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/topic\/katie-hill\">Katie Hill<\/a> (D-CA) has been ordered to pay approximately $220,000 in attorney fees to three conservative news outlets after her lawsuits backfired.<\/p>\n<p>Hill had been a rising star in the Democratic Party after flipping a Republican congressional seat during the 2018 \u201cblue wave,\u201d but a personal undertow soon pulled her political career out to sea.<\/p>\n<p>In October 2019, the UK-based newspaper the Daily Mail <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-7609835\/Katie-Hill-seen-showing-Nazi-era-tattoo-smoking-BONG-NAKED.html\">published<\/a> pictures showing Hill, her then-husband Kenneth Heslep, and Morgan Desjardins in various compromising positions and stages of undress. The photos \u2014 some of which the couple reportedly posted online in 2016 \u2014 showed Hill brushing the staffer\u2019s hair and smoking a bong.<\/p>\n<p>Hill, who is now 33 years old, eventually confessed that the trio had formed a \u201cthrouple\u201d after Desjardins joined the congresswoman\u2019s campaign staff in 2017. She told a media outlet that she initially planned to \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/katie-hill-admits-she-planned-to-lie-about-throuple-relationship-before-scandal-blew-up\">just deny it<\/a>\u201d when first asked about the allegations of her affair.<\/p>\n<p>The photos that accompanied the story were said to have made their way into the press after Hill broke off the relationship with both parties, telling them she wanted to focus on her work. But Hill\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/report-staffers-allegedly-confirmed-katie-hills-affair-with-legislative-director-reportedly-leading-pelosi-to-demand-resignation\">reportedly<\/a> had another affair with her legislative director, Graham Kelly; Hill still denies the affair.<\/p>\n<p>Hill sued the Daily Mail, Red State writer Jennifer Van Laar, and nationally syndicated radio host Joseph Messina. Her case against Daily Mail contended that the pictures constituted illegal \u201crevenge porn,\u201d and that the paper didn\u2019t have to publish the pictures themselves, because it could have simply described the photos to its readers.<\/p>\n<p>Hill also apparently took issue with the idea that conservative opinion writers should enjoy equal First Amendment rights with the legacy media.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA partisan blog is a news outlet, according to this\u201d initial ruling, Hill <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1whkjeU76Eo\">told<\/a> MSNBC in April. \u201cThat can\u2019t be acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Yolanda Orozco <a href=\"https:\/\/reason.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/HillvHeslep.pdf\">ruled<\/a> that the media had every legal right to publish Hill\u2019s nude photos, because the law makes an exception for private pictures that fall within the public interest:<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"13\">\n<p><em>Section 1708.85(c)(5) provides for an exception from liability for images which are a matter of public concern. Here, Defendant has established that the images are a matter of public concern, as they speak to Plaintiff\u2019s character and qualifications for her position as a Congresswoman, allegedly depicting an extramarital sexual relationship with a paid campaign staff member, the use of illegal drugs by a sitting Congresswoman, and a tattoo similar to the symbols formerly used by white supremacists.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>On Wednesday, Orozco ordered Hill to pay the Daily Mail <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courthousenews.com\/katie-hill-owes-daily-mail-105k-for-attorney-fees-in-nude-photo-fight\/\">$104,747.75<\/a> in attorney fees.<\/p>\n<p>Hill ended up having to shoulder the substantial legal costs triggered by her lawsuits\u00a0due to an anti-SLAPP law. The acronym \u201cSLAPP\u201d is short for \u201cStrategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation\u201d and describes litigation intended only to shut down public scrutiny.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSLAPPs have become an all-too-common tool for intimidating and silencing criticism through expensive, baseless legal proceedings,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rcfp.org\/resources\/anti-slapp-laws\/\">explains<\/a> the Reporters Committee for a Free Press.<\/p>\n<p>Many such laws require that, if such a lawsuit fails, the plaintiff has to pay the costs that the baseless litigation imposed on the defendants.<\/p>\n<p>Hill had previously been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-9648243\/Former-Rep-Katie-Hill-ordered-pay-DailyMail-coms-105-000-legal-fees-judge-tossed-suit.html\">ordered<\/a> to pay approximately $84,000 to Van Laar and $30,000 to Messina under the same legal rubric, according to the Daily Mail.<\/p>\n<p>Hill responded by asking her followers to help foot the bill.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA judge just ordered me to PAY the Daily Mail more than $100k for the privilege of them publishing nude photos of me obtained from an abuser. The justice system is broken for victims,\u201d Hill <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/katiehill4ca\/status\/1400135397011869697\">posted<\/a> on social media.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur fight continues \u2013 please chip in if you can,\u201d she wrote, linking to a crowdfunding page run by the Brooklyn-based C.A. Goldberg law firm.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"10.874213836478\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A judge just ordered me to PAY the Daily Mail more than $100k for the privilege of them publishing nude photos of me obtained from an abuser. <\/p>\n<p>The justice system is broken for victims. <\/p>\n<p>Our fight continues \u2013 please chip in if you can: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qKaSPpC2nq\">https:\/\/t.co\/qKaSPpC2nq<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BoycottDailyMail?src=hash&#038;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#BoycottDailyMail<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Katie Hill (@KatieHill4CA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KatieHill4CA\/status\/1400135397011869697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 2, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Earlier, Hill <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/disgraced-democratic-congresswoman-katie-hill-i-had-to-resign-because-of-biphobia-and-im-a-woman\">blamed<\/a> her resignation on \u201cbiphobia\u201d and the fact that \u201cI\u2019m a woman\u201d \u2014 although the national media <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/feature\/nbc-out\/bisexual-candidate-katie-hill-hopes-be-part-democrats-blue-wave-n880901\">celebrated<\/a> Hill as \u201cpotentially the only openly bisexual person in the House\u201d during her successful 2018 election.<\/p>\n<p>Her formerly Republican seat reverted to the GOP during a special election in May 2020, when <a href=\"https:\/\/mikegarcia.house.gov\/\">Mike Garcia<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/katie-hill-on-gop-winning-her-former-congressional-seat-pretty-fing-devastating\">won<\/a> the district \u2014 a flip Hill called \u201cpretty f***ing devastating.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Many have accused Hill of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/former-staff-hijacks-democrat-katie-hills-gov-twitter-account-accuses-her-of-abuse-not-a-hero-for-women\">abusing<\/a> her position of authority for her own sexual gratification.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><i>The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><i>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>member<\/i><\/span><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A former Democratic congresswoman has to pay a conservative newspaper more than $100,000 in legal fees after she sued the outlet for publishing nude photos that exposed her bisexual relationship &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2279454,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Katie-Hill.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"Katie Hill, Democratic Ex-Congresswoman In \u2018Throuple\u2019 Must Pay Conservative Newspaper $105K After Lawsuit Backfires","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-555369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Katie-Hill.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"Katie Hill, Democratic Ex-Congresswoman In \u2018Throuple\u2019 Must Pay Conservative Newspaper $105K After Lawsuit Backfires","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555369","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=555369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2279454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}