Which caused me to follow him down a Rabbit Hole in Maine in pursuit of the truth about him and his support of Trump
Obviously Musk allowing him to trash a truck of his appears to be cheap advertising
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/N9YPwhwUaME
Tucker Carlson breaks silence after Fox News exit
Tucker Carlson has broken his silence after his departure from Fox News in a video lashing out at "liars trying to silence" honest people.
The short video was posted on Twitter two days after his exit. He did not share the reason for his departure or speak about his future plans.
Fox News has said it and Carlson had agreed to "part ways".
His exit came days after Fox settled a defamation lawsuit over its reporting of the 2020 presidential election.
Carlson made his first public comments since he left Fox News in a two-minute clip posted to Twitter on Wednesday, saying he was addressing "things you notice when you take a little time off", including "how unbelievably stupid most of the debates you see on television are".
But "when honest people say what's true, calmly and without embarrassment, they become powerful," he adds.
"At the same time, the liars who have been trying to silence them shrink, and they become weaker."
He ends with "where can you still find Americans saying true things? There aren't many places left, but there are some".
The 53-year-old Carlson was not just a popular presenter on Fox News but also a hugely influential one, with an average of three million Americans tuning in to his programme every night.
Within two hours of being posted, his Twitter message had received over five million views.
The sudden announcement of Carlson's departure came shortly after Fox News paid $787m (£631m) to settle a defamation suit brought by voting machine company Dominion.
In the suit, Dominion argued its business was harmed by Fox spreading false claims that its machines were rigged against former President Donald Trump.The case prompted disclosures of text messages that publicly aired Carlson's private views about Mr Trump and his colleagues at Fox.
The Wall Street Journal - owned by News Corp, which also owns Fox News - reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources, that a decision to dismiss Carlson was made in part due to messages in which he used vulgar language about colleagues and Fox management.
His exit came as another prominent US cable TV host was also ousted. CNN's Don Lemon, announced on Monday that he had been "terminated" after 17 years at the network.
Both Lemon and Carlson have reportedly hired top Hollywood lawyer Bryan Freedman, who also represented former CNN host Chris Cuomo and ex-NBC and Fox host Megyn Kelly.
How Tucker Carlson rode a wave of populist outrage
Getty Images/BBCLast Wednesday night, Tucker Carlson opened his Fox News show in typical fashion. "Sometimes you wonder how filthy and dishonest our news media are," he mused.
"The question is, who is telling the truth? There are not many of those."
For the last six years, Carlson has used his perch to convince a conservative-leaning swathe of the American public that he is one of those few voices of truth - even as he aired segments that critics say featured misinformation and racism.
The approach was incredibly effective. Carlson was one of the highest-rated hosts in network news, consistently attracting about three million viewers, establishing himself as a powerful figure in the conservative movement.
But despite that success, just days after he questioned the honesty of the news media, he would be forced out of primetime.
On Monday, Fox News abruptly announced the network and its biggest star had, in its words, agreed to "part ways".
Neither party has yet provided details of the departure. But Carlson's exit comes days after Fox News paid an extraordinary $787m (£633m) settlement to Dominion Voting Systems over false election claims.
The lawsuit revealed, among other things, that Carlson derided Donald Trump's election fraud claims in private messages while backing them publicly on the air. At one point, he texted that he hated the former president "passionately".
Now, the future of one of America's loudest conservative voices remains uncertain.
A steady rise and a sudden fall
Carlson got his start in the media world of the 1990s, writing for several prominent publications. He worked as a commentator for CNN in the early 2000s before joining MSNBC to host a nightly programme.
He moved over to Fox News in 2009 to work as a political analyst, eventually launching his own show, Tucker Carlson Tonight, in 2016. The debut episode attracted about 3.7 million viewers.
Around that same time, two seismic events swept through the conservative world that propelled Carlson to the media stratosphere.
The first came in 2017, when Fox News fired its biggest star at the time, Bill O'Reilly, leaving an opening for the next network star. The New York Times had reported millions in payouts made to women who had accused O'Reilly of sexual misconduct - allegations he said had no merit.
The second was Mr Trump.
Carlson's stature ballooned during the Trump era, as he often used his new primetime slot to defend the president, riding a wave of populist outrage that fuelled his election victory.
Getty Images"The main message is a populist one," Yotam Ophir, who studies disinformation at the State University of New York at Buffalo, explained. "'They', whoever they are, are coming to get you... that the country you love is changing before our eyes. And only we at Fox are willing to say the truth and fight for people's values."
Since launching Tucker Carlson Tonight, "they" have included immigrants, political correctness, the Black Lives Matter movement, Democrats, Hollywood, an amorphous elite class, and LGBT people, to name just a few.
The populist message was potent. Republican politicians were eager to appear on his show, seeing it as a direct conduit to their political base.
His show generated $77.5m in advertising revenue last year, figures from agency Vivvix showed, with Carlson's hour attracting 45% more advertising dollars than the next biggest show in primetime.
After news of his departure broke, Republican lawmakers and right-wing pundits praised Carlson.
Donald Trump Jr., the former president's son, said Carlson was "one of the few voices in the Republican Party that would call out the nonsense from GOP senators, governors, and otherwise".
Accusations of racism and misogyny
While lauded on the right, Mr Carlson and his show frequently drew condemnation from misinformation experts, fact-checkers and activists.
He was accused of elevating racist and nativist talking points and promoting conspiracy theories.
Experts on hate speech and extremism have accused him of endorsing white supremacist ideologies.
In 2020, Carlson called it "soulless" and "craven" to support the Black Lives Matter movement. He claimed it was "definitely not about black lives".
Carlson faced condemnation outside of his show, as well.
In recordings from 2006-11 obtained by a watchdog that monitors conservative media, Carlson called women "extremely primitive", defended child marriage and made sexual comments about underage girls. Carlson responded by inviting "anyone who disagrees" with his comments to appear on his show.
In another instance, audio captured him calling Iraq a "crappy place filled with... semiliterate primitive monkeys".
In 2019, Carlson criticised Ilhan Omar, the Somali-born Muslim Democratic congresswoman, saying on his show she was "living proof that the way we practice immigration has become dangerous to this country".
Carlson also faced accusations of spreading misinformation around Covid-19 vaccine requirements, and entertaining election-denying conspiracy theories - even though, as the Dominion lawsuit revealed, he privately denounced Trump's claims to have won the 2020 election.
"Not everything he says is misinformative, but it all creates this aura of disregard for truth," said Kristy Roschke, a media literacy expert at Arizona State University.
"Those things have had a tremendous impact on our media environment and therefore on the viewer."
An unexpected exit
His controversial statements did not go unnoticed - and occasionally caused blowback for the network - such as in 2018 when he said immigrants made America "poorer and dirtier", leading several large companies to pull their advertisements. But for the most part, the network left him to his own devices.
Which makes his sudden, unexplained departure from Fox News all the more shocking.
Getty ImagesBBC News contacted a lawyer said to be representing Carlson, but did not receive a reply. Carlson himself has remained silent thus far.
High profile conservatives expressed their support. Commentator Matt Walsh said the move was "disastrous" for Fox News, and called Carlson "by far the most important and relevant figure at the network".
Carlson's next move remains unclear.
Like his predecessors O'Reilly and the bombastic former opinion host Glenn Beck, who was prominent during the Obama era, he may try to pivot into his own media brand.
Both Beck and O'Reilly - who have launched news podcasts alongside other ventures - have struggled to command the same level of influence.
Nonetheless, Carlson's supporters are optimistic. "Wherever Tucker Carlson goes," Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert tweeted, "America will follow!"
Without the powerful engine of Fox News behind him, it is unclear whether Carlson will continue to hold sway.
"It is a watershed moment," said Mr Ophir. "His departure from Fox is a big moment for the balance of our information system at large."
Leaked texts expose Tucker Carlson in billion dollar scandal: I ‘hate’ Trump
MSNBC
“STOP LYING!!” | Tucker Carlson & Russell Brand FULL INTERVIEW
Tucker: Why did they lie to us for so long
Tucker Carlson: This will destroy the US over time
Truth Behind Tucker Carlson’s Fox News Exit? | The View
The View
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7TTQWaY2cKQ
#JonStewart thinks #TuckerCarlson is very aware of how evil & manipulative his messaging is #FoxNews
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo7f8MJrlFE
Tucker Carlson: Liberals Will KILL TRUMP Before Letting Him Be POTUS Again | Rising
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHcpTtYeU2w
Watch: Tucker Carlson full speech at 2024 RNC | LiveNOW from FOX
LiveNOW from FOX
EXCLUSIVE: An ax to grind! Tucker Carlson is seen rebuilding his barn-turned-satellite studio after Fox News dismantled his remote set near Maine summer home - as loyalists quit the network to join his new secret venture
- Exclusive DailyMail.com photos show Tucker Carlson hard at work at his satellite studio in Woodstock, Maine, as he prepares to launch his new media venture following his unexpected departure from Fox
- The ousted host would have started broadcasting his nightly Fox talk show from the remote set for the summer by now, but instead is rebuilding the studio after it was dismantled by the network
- 'Fox came in last week and got all their sh*t out of there,' construction manager Patrick Feeney told DailyMail.com. 'They took the set and everything, all the equipment, the chairs, the desk, the fake walls'
Workers from Fox News swooped in and dismantled Tucker Carlson's Maine recording studio just as he was preparing to take his show to Twitter, DailyMail.com has learned exclusively.
And the studio – in a converted barn – will now have to be completely rebuilt after being left in shambles by the network's crew.
'Fox came in last week and got all their sh*t out of there,' Patrick Feeney, who is managing the work, told DailyMail.com.
'They took the set and everything, all the equipment, the chairs, the desk, the fake walls, everything.'
Now the conservative firebrand is helping work alongside a three-man construction crew at the studio in downtown Woodstock, DailyMail.com's exclusive photos show.
Ousted Fox News host Tucker Carlson was seen unloading equipment and materials out of his SUV as he carried out construction work at his now defunct satellite studio in Woodstock, Maine last week
Carlson, who was axed by Fox last month, has returned to his summer hometown where he would usually film his long-running nightly talk show remotely for the season, to repair and rebuild his studio after it was dismantled by the network
Sources tell DailyMail.com the political pundit is trying to get his studio back up and running as he prepares to launch his new venture
Carlson, 54, spends his summers in the rural town, 55 miles west of the state capital Augusta, where Fox had built a set in an old barn so he could broadcast the show remotely. He was due to start filming from the satellite studio within a few weeks when he was suddenly fired by the network on April 24.
Tucker has since given his own crew a new job, to get the studio back up and running. But the removal of the original set meant they had to repair the infrastructure.
'There's no hardware in place at all,' Feeney said. 'There's not even an infrastructure for a TV studio for a long time.'
Feeney told DailyMail.com that his boss, who spends much of the year in Florida, had only recently returned to Woodstock, where he owns a house on a lake on the outskirts of town.
'He just got back late last night after meeting with lawyers and all that stuff,' he said. 'As you can imagine, he's very, very busy right now.'
The polarizing host was booted from his top-rated show Tucker Carlson Tonight in late April.
The company gave no official reason why they let their most-watched anchor go, but the decision came just six days after Fox settled with Dominion Voting Systems paying the company $787.5 million in a defamation lawsuit.
One of Tucker's daughters was seen visiting her father at his studio to drop off packages, one of them being an ax
The political pundit was seen handling an ax and other equipment as he and a three-person construction crew got to work on the studio last week
Carlson was due to start filming at the satellite studio (pictured) for the season when he was abruptly fired on April 24. The network recently traveled to Woodstock to remove the set and the equipment, his local construction manager told DailyMail.com
The conservative firebrand was dressed for a day of work, sporting a checkered flannel, utility vest, pants, and flat bed clogs
One of his daughters was seen helping her father unload items from his SUV, including a brand new ax delivery
Soon after, some of the pre-trial discovery materials leaked, including a slew of incendiary text messages Carlson sent the day after the January 6 storming of the Capitol when he recalled seeing a mob of three white men attacking an 'Antifa kid' and said he initially wanted the victim to be killed.
Out of a job while still due to receive a hefty Fox salary through 2025, Carlson didn't wait long to make his next move.
On May 10, he announced he is launching a new version of his show. He posted a three-minute video on his Twitter page captioned 'We're back,' slamming the mainstream media while telling his followers: 'Starting soon we'll be bringing a new version of the show we've been doing for the last six and a half years to Twitter.'
Variety reported last week that several Fox anchors have reached out to Carlson expressing their desire to join him when their contracts expire.
The publication also wrote that he is poised to launch the show within a month, with his former senior executive producer Justin Wells – who was fired at the same time as Carlson – on board.
Later in the day Tucker's wife Susan also swung by the studio for a quick visit to drop off some more packages
There was a lot of work being done to the space throughout the day, with at least three workers coming in and out between sawing wood and working on other various projects
The removal of the original set meant the construction crew has to repair the infrastructure of the studio to get it back up and running
An insider told DailyMail.com that several Fox employees have already quit to join the startup. But according to Carlson's own construction manager, the new show won't happen within a month, at least if they're relying on Woodstock to be the hub.
And as far as he knows, details of any new venture are still being worked out and there is no date yet for launch.
'We just came to clean it up and get it looking like something again,' Feeney said. 'There's no imminent venture. We're just getting ready in case something does happen.
'There's nothing we're doing other than cleaning the place up, shoring up the walls, making it look good again.'
A three-man construction crew could be seen last Thursday in the garage sawing wood, extending electrical wires and repeatedly entering the once-and-future studio, while banging away with hammers.
Carlson spent much of his day inside working the phones, dealing with fallout from Fox and plotting his new endeavor.
At one point, he emerged to greet his wife Susan, who drove up to the building in an SUV hauling crates.
Carlson, 54, was dressed down in a brown vest with the sleeves to his red Oxford shirt rolled up, grabbed an axe and drill from the trunk, along with several boxes.
Carlson spent much of his day inside working the phones, dealing with fallout from Fox and plotting his new endeavor
The refurbishing of the set comes as Tucker prepares to launch his own, new media venture following his departure from Fox
A three-man construction crew could be seen Thursday in the garage sawing wood, extending electrical wires and repeatedly entering the former and future studio, while banging away with hammers
He sorted through the items, bringing some into the building and discarding others in a nearby dumpster.
The cable commentator spends summers in the small town near the Sunday River ski resort with his wife. The couple has four children, including son Buckley who is due to get married this month.
Carlson was busy preparing for the wedding as he dealt with work. He also fitted in a fishing trip. He declined an interview request.
Before the Twitter announcement, Carlson's attorney Bryan Freedman sent an aggressive letter to Fox arguing that the $25million noncompete provision in his contract is no longer valid, which would in turn allow him to launch a competing show, or media entity.
'We bring some other things too, which we'll tell you about,' Carlson stated on the video. 'But for now we're just grateful to be here. Free speech is the main right that you have. Without it, you have no others.'
Afterwards, Elon Musk – who purchased the platform last October – clarified that he had not signed a deal with Carlson, and like other creators on the platform, the political host would generate his own revenue from advertising.
For all of 2022, Carlson averaged 3.03 million viewers, second only to Fox's 'The Five' as the most popular program on cable television
The Fox News star was due to start filming locally in his studio in just a couple weeks when he was fired on April 24
Both Susan and their four kids have tried to stay out of the limelight over the years, and none of them use social media
'I also want to be clear that we have not signed a deal of any kind whatsoever. Tucker is subject to the same rules & rewards of all content creators,' Musk tweeted.
It has also been revealed that Carlson had a conversation with Musk about working together.
The billionaire Tesla and SpaceX chief executive added that he would like to see others, especially those who lean left, follow Carlson's lead.
The Twitter show would seem to violate Carlson's contract with Fox, but his attorneys' claim in their letter that Fox breached the contract first.
Carlson's contract technically runs through January 2025, and Fox reportedly wants to keep paying him until then, which would prevent him from starting a rival show.
Freedman's letter indicates that Fox employees, including 'Rupert Murdoch himself,' broke promises made to Carlson 'intentionally and with reckless disregard for the truth.'
Specifically, the letter alleged that Fox broke an agreement with Carlson not to leak his private communications to the media and not to use Carlson's private messages 'to take any adverse employment action against him.'
EXCLUSIVE: 'Fox News is going to regret the decision.' Tucker Carlson's shocked neighbors in his quaint Maine town rally round the firebrand known locally as a 'modest, pickup truck-driving good guy' who likes to fish and chop wood
- Tucker Carlson's friends and neighbors in Woodstock, Maine were some of the first to speak to him shortly after he was abruptly fired by Fox News Monday
- Speaking to DailyMail.com, carpenter Patrick Fenney, who helped build his satellite studio in town, said a 'pretty shocked' Carlson called him from Florida
- Locals know the TV host as a 'down-to-earth, hardworking, friendly guy' who fits right in the community where residents don't pay much attention to the news
Just hours after he was fired by Fox News, conservative firebrand Tucker Carlson's phone lit up with well-wishes from locals in the quaint Maine town where he spends most of his summers.
The 53-year-old has stirred up vitriol as one of the most polarizing political commentators in the country, but in the small rural town of Woodstock, residents never felt that antagonism in person from the man they describe as a good neighbor.
'More time for fishing?' his carpenter Patrick Fenney said in a text message to Carlson at lunchtime Monday, shortly after the news broke.
An hour later, Tucker, at home with his wife in Florida, phoned him back.
On screen, Tucker Carlson is known as a polarizing political pundit on Fox News, but to the residents of Woodstock, Maine, where he owns a summer home and sometimes filmed his show remotely, he is a 'modest, down-to-earth guy'
The ousted firebrand spends his summers in the rural town, where he even converted an old barn into a studio (pictured) with the help of a local carpenter
Carlson has been coming to Western Maine with family since he was a child and owns a home in Bryant Pond, Woodstock's urban center with just 1,350 residents
'He called me back at 1 and said he found out about it a half hour before I did,' Fenney told DailyMail.com Tuesday, standing inside Carlson's satellite TV studio that the local helped him build in an old barn downtown.'He told me it started out as a normal day. He got up, wrote the show, and then he got the phone calling saying it was all over and that they were going to announce it.'
'He was pretty shocked,' he added. 'He asked them why and they wouldn't give him a reason.'
Speaking from Carlson's converted-barn satellite studio, local carpenter Patrick Fenney told DailyMail.com the host called him after he was axed
But Carlson seemed nonplussed.
'He was not upset at all,' Fenney told DailyMail.com. 'He said that maybe he'd fish a little more this summer.'
It was the sort of humble banter Carlson is known for locally, where he's seen as one of the friendliest, down to earth guys you'd ever meet.
The day began with business as usual.
That morning, a couple Fox production workers were setting up cameras and lighting for Carlson's show, which was due to start filming locally in just a couple weeks when the most popular cable news host was planning to return to Woodstock.
Crew members were caught off guard by the firing as well and went driving away around noon, with no clear direction of what might come next, Fenney said.
Carlson, who has been coming to Western Maine with family since he was a child, owns a home in Bryant Pond, Woodstock's urban center with just 1,350 residents.
In 2019, he wrote the town a letter stating his desire to retire there someday.
Carlson, a known avid fisher, drew attention over his modest, friendly encounter with a blogger who shared a video of the political pundit fishing in Central Park in 2013
Just like his friends and neighbors in Woodstock, the man behind the camera said he found the TV star surprisingly 'really, really nice'
He even has a plot at the local cemetery beside a 19th century universalist church, according to the regional Sun Journal.
He's a regular around town during the summer, working out of his studio on Main Street, taking breaks to chat with neighbors and sometimes greet fans who travel from out of state to meet their TV hero.
He could also be seen doing yardwork, chopping wood or painting shingles on his stately house, located on a small island on Lake Christopher that is just a few hundred feet from the shore.
Fenney has the keys to Carlson's motorboat that he takes to the house, which is still boarded up from the winter.
Locals say Carlson fits right in to the hardworking community, where residents don't pay much attention to the news.
'You could walk down the road and knock on the next five doors and people wouldn't be able to tell you who the vice president is,' Fenney told DailyMail.com.
'They got other things to worry about. They don't care. What they care about is if you don't get your firewood and split it, you'll freeze to death.'
He described Carlson as 'a very modest, not a fancy person.'
Susan Hatstat, 37, who works at a convenience store where Carlson frequently stops by, agreed.
The Fox News star was due to start filming locally in his studio in just a couple weeks when he was fired
Carlson is a regular around town during the summer, working out of his studio on Main Street, taking breaks to chat with neighbors
In 2019, he wrote the town a letter stating his desire to retire there someday
'We always see him driving around in his old pickup truck,' Hatstat told DailyMail.com.
'He's actually just a really good guy, always super polite,' she said.
'He's normal when he's here, nice to everybody. He doesn't act like a celebrity. He comes here, grabs snacks, gets treats for his dogs.
'I like him, and his family's really nice,' she added.
Across the small town, Carlson could also be seen doing yardwork, chopping wood or painting shingles on his stately house
'His brother Buckley's always here, and his nephew. Tucker's been coming up here his whole life.'
He's also hired several locals for his show.
Hatstat's brother, a chef who works at the nearby Sunday River ski mountain, cooks for Carlson and 'all his celebrity friends,' she revealed, adding: 'And my brother's wife does Tucker's hair and makeup.'
Neil Olsen, a 75-year-old animal trapper in the area, said over time he has become close with Carlson, who's joined him on some of his excursions trapping foxes and coyotes.
'He is one of the most down to earth people I've ever met who was so-called famous,' Olsen told DailyMail.com.
'I'm a layman, let's just say. I'm a nobody, and I'm out there doing some fishing and trapping, and Tucker's spending time with me,' Olsen said.
'And I could just tell, he just wants to be a down to earth person. I haven't met anyone who's been around this guy that didn't like him.'
Earlier this week, Carlson looked unfazed as he left his secluded Gulf Coast home and headed out for date night with his wife Susan, smiling broadly, and dressed in a smart, blue button-down shirt and khaki pants
zoomed off in a golf cart without elaborating on reports that he was 'blindsided' by Monday's shock announcement that he was 'parting ways' with Fox - despite being the network's biggest prime-time star
Both Susan (seen with Tucker) and their four kids have tried to stay out of the limelight over the years, and none of them use social media
They tied the knot in 1991 and went on to welcome four kids together named Lillie, Buckley, Hopie, and Dorothy
Last year, he said, Carlson joined him for a three-hour drive to sell furs to a dealer in Greenville, Maine.
While there, the Fox host ended up ordering a beaver blanket for his wife, Olsen said.
'I just remember what the guy there said to Tucker: ''How did you happen to come with him up here?'' Olsen recalled.
'And Tucker responded, ''because he asked me.''
'We've been on three trips together, and I'm a bit of a goofball at times, and he allows me to be me,' he continued.
'You go around some people and they're stuffed shirts, if you know what I'm saying. Tucker isn't what people think he is.'
He recalls one conversation they had about religion, which started with Olsen remarking about how all fishing lures boast they're the best on the market. Olsen likened it to religion.
'So I said to Tucker, there are like eight different religions, and everybody thinks theirs is the best, so seven of them have got to be wrong,' he recounted.
'And his quote to me was something I'm going to live by the rest of my life: He said, Neil, for me, in all religions, we all know that there's something special out there, and for him it's God. I just thought that was a great answer.'
For all of 2022, Carlson averaged 3.03 million viewers, second only to Fox's 'The Five' as the most popular program on cable television
Despite the claims by a former booking producer that she was subjected to bullying, sexism and anti-Semitism on Carlson's show, his Fox News colleagues found him to be a great guy, sources told DailyMail.com
Tucker (pictured on his last show on Friday, left), was fired from Fox News on Monday after being on the network for 14 years. Carlson (pictured in 2003, right) was said to be 'blindsided' by the news of his firing
Carlson also invited Olsen to watch his show, giving him and his daughters an exclusive audience from inside the studio, which was originally a barn.
'One of my daughters really, let's just say, wasn't a Tucker fan,' the trapper said.
'When she left there, he didn't necessarily win her over with all the political aspects, but she left there knowing, hey, he's actually a nice guy.'
Olsen said he sent Carlson a text message the morning of his firing, writing: 'Just know that we really like you, Tucker.'
Speaking to DailyMail.com, Olsen said: 'I think they're going to regret the decision.'
But like others in town, he took the news in stride, and had no real concerns for Carlson's future.
'He gives me the impression that he'd just rather be a down to earth guy that blends in, goes fishing, rabbit hunting, without anybody knowing really who he is,' Olsen said.
'And now, I assume he might, this is just a guess, take the summer off.'
Fenney said the only real question now is what Carlson will choose to do next.
'I can't imagine he's going to be hurting for things to do,' he said.
'He's a tough man, he'll survive it. He the hardest working man I know.'
And it turns out Tucker was as popular among (most of) his peers as he was his Woodstock neighbors.
Fox News only managed to pull in 1.33 million viewers for hastily arranged substitute host Brian Kilmeade for who presented on Carlson's old 8pm slot on Wednesday night
The massive drop in viewing figures comes after Carlson's departure from Fox News whose show had consistently dominated the time period and was most viewed show in cable news
Despite the claims by former booking producer Abby Grossberg that she was subjected to bullying, sexism and anti-Semitism while working on his show, his Fox News colleagues found him to be a great guy – and would follow him anywhere.
In fact, said one current staffer, working on the show that is now temporarily being hosted by Brian Kilmeade, 'We would rather work for Tucker somewhere else than stay here.
'Tucker called everyone he worked with after he got the news. Our collective mouths fell to the floor.
'He was great to us – always included us at dinners with celebs he interviewed on the show - like Kanye and Mike Tyson - had us to his home. It's cliché but we were like family.'
According to the insider, Fox is now planning to rotate schedules and most probably hosts to fill the spot vacated by Tucker.
Ratings have crashed since Tucker's last appearance on Friday night, with the network falling below MSNBC's Chris Hayes' show in the 8pm timeslot Wednesday.
For all of 2022, Carlson averaged 3.03 million viewers, second only to Fox's 'The Five' as the most popular program on cable television.
Kilmeade had 1.7 million viewers on Tuesday and 2.59 million on Monday, when he told people who hadn't already heard the news that Carlson would no longer be appearing on the network.
Carlson had 2.65 million viewers on Friday for what he didn't know at the time would be his last show on Fox.
Meanwhile, the ousted host's two-minute monologue he shared on Twitter Thursday night, has been viewed 70 million times, according to the social media site.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson's Maine studio almost ready
WOODSTOCK (SUN JOURNAL) -- Tucker Carlson’s Maine studio, which is located down the road from his vacation home in an old garage in Woodstock, is almost ready for airtime.
Carlson, who purchased the building in Bryant Pond village last fall for $30,000, told the town he plans to use the small studio about 35 days a year for his television show, “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
Documents submitted to the town, which sold him the property behind the abandoned Franklin Grange Hall on Route 26, indicate that Carlson intended to spend about $88,000 of his money to upgrade the decaying garage to house a small studio, a kitchenette, some space to pursue unstated hobbies, storage and a bathroom.
Carlson, who could not be reached for comment, has shown a keen interest in regional issues in Maine over the years, from complaints about Somali immigrants in Lewiston to the recent controversy of Rick Savage reopening his Sunday River Brewing Co. restaurant in nearby Bethel in defiance of state rules to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The television host’s plans for a studio nearly came to an immediate halt after the Sun Journal disclosed in March 2019 that Carlson planned to purchase the old garage, which originally served as a stable for patrons of the Grange hall.
Because of the publicity, Carlson told the newspaper that “I can’t have my building now. I’m kind of crushed.”
He blamed the paper for undermining his project, insisting that his effort to buy the property wasn’t news. “All it does is hurt me” to have people find out about the studio’s presence, Carlson said at the time.
Carlson has, however, mentioned on the air that he was broadcasting from rented space in the town library, which is next door to the garage he bought. His property will tie into the library’s septic system.
Despite his insistence that the news story wrecked his chance of having a studio close to his beloved vacation spot, Carlson wound up buying the garage anyway after voters in Woodstock approved the sale in November.
Carlson mentioned that Fox executives were happy with the temporary studio in the library.
“The ratings for the shows we’ve done from Maine have been high,” he said, adding that within the network the library was famous as its “northernmost bureau.”
“Best of all,” Carlson said, “I’ve been able to spend four months a year in Bryant Pond, which is my favorite place in the world.”
Tucker Puts the Cybertruck to the Ultimate Test (Full Review)
Patrick Feeney: Doomsday Prepping and What Rural Americans Really Think about Kamala Harris
Tucker Carlson
Patrick Feeney
Bryant Pond, ME
Age:
52Current Home Address:
Past Addresses: Homes, Rental Properties, businesses, apartments, condos and/or other real estate associated with Patrick Feeney in Bryant Pond, ME.
Phone: Cell/Mobile/Wireless and/or landline telephone numbers for Patrick Feeney in Bryant Pond, ME.
(207) 824-4226(207) 824-8696
AKA: Alias, Nicknames, alternate spellings, married and/or maiden names for Patrick Feeney in Bryant Pond, ME.
Patrick J SeeneyRelatives: Mother, father, sisters, brothers, spouses and/or former spouses of Patrick Feeney in Bryant Pond, ME.
Annie Feeney • Christy Feeney • Claire Feeney • Donald Feeney • James Feeney • John Feeney • Matthew Feeney • Ruth Feeney • Andrew Feeney • Baird Feeney • Baird Fenney • Barbara Feeney • Beverly Clock • Carol Feeney
https://www.sunjournal.com/2023/08/16/this-1950-chevy-goes-for-a-drive-most-days/
Photos: This 1950 Chevy goes for a drive most days
- Phone Number:
- 207-824-7549
- Addresses:
- 42 Lovejoy Mountain Rd, Albany Twp, ME ; Po Box 81, Bethel, ME ; Rr 36
19 charged in drug sweep targeting motorcycle club
PORTLAND, Maine — A drug sweep targeting one of Maine's largest motorcycle clubs, the Iron Horsemen, has yielded 16 arrests, most of them in York County. Records unsealed late last week in federal court indicate 19 people were indicted on one count each of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana. Some face other charges as well.
A wiretapping operation captured 40 telephone calls between July and September last year, implicating the defendants. The yearlong investigation began at the county level and expanded to include the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, York county Sheriff Maurice Ouellette said. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Perry, the lead prosecutor in the case, said Monday he is barred from discussing details of the investigation.
Portland police weren't involved in the investigation, but the department tracks motorcycle clubs. Portland Police Sgt. Bob Martin says the biker gangs have been "flying under the radar."
The defendants are members or supporters of the Iron Horsemen Motorcycle Club, Ouellette said, and most of them live in Old Orchard Beach, Limerick and nearby towns. Three people still at large are Richard Szpyt of Haverhill, Mass., Michael Balot of South Portland and Robert Boothby of Monson.
A home owned by Szpyt in Old Orchard Beach was used as a meeting spot for the Iron Horsemen. Prosecutors want that property turned over to the federal government. Keith Babin, the town's deputy police chief, said his department was aware that the property was being used as an Iron Horsemen clubhouse. But there have been no police problems there, he said. The club has worked with police, providing contact information and giving the department a heads-up prior to gatherings, Babin said.
The latest event, a New Year's Eve party for Iron Horsemen members from several states, went off without complaints, he said. Five of the 16 defendants who have been arrested remain in federal custody: Robert Sanborn of Old Orchard Beach, James Weston of Old Orchard Beach, Sherwood Jordan of Albany, Daniel Guarino of Old Orchard Beach, and Charles Green of East Dixfield. Ten others were released after posting bond and one was freed on his own recognizance.
Bikers found guilty in drug trial
Lewiston Sun Journalhttps://www.sunjournal.com › 2009/05/14 › bikers-fou...
https://www.fosters.com/story/news/local/2009/05/05/motorcycle-club-members-go-on/52006051007/
Motorcycle club members go on trial in drug case
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The drug trafficking trial of an ex-president of the Maine chapter of the Iron Horsemen Motorcycle Club and two of his associates is under way in U.S. District Court in Portland.
A federal prosecutor told jurors Tuesday that drug ledgers, wiretapped phone calls and testimony from witnesses will be enough to convict Richard Szypt, Roman Dellosantos and Sherwood Jordan. Szypt, of Haverhill, Mass., served as president from 2005 until last spring, when the indictments were handed up.
In their opening statements, defense lawyers said the government won't be able to establish their clients' involvement in an alleged conspiracy to funnel large amounts of cocaine and marijuana between Massachusetts and Maine.
The Portland Press Herald said the trial could last two weeks.
___
Information from: Portland Press Herald, http://www.pressherald.com
https://www.fosters.com/story/news/crime/2009/05/19/members-iron-horsemen-motorcycle-club/51990594007/
Members of Iron Horsemen Motorcycle Club convicted on drug charges in Maine
ALFRED — York County Sheriff Maurice Ouellette said Monday morning the conviction in U.S. District Court in Portland last week of members of the Maine Chapter of the Iron Horsemen Motorcycle Club put a large dent in illegal drug operations in southern Maine.
Richard Szpyt, 49, of Haverhill, Mass., and Old Orchard Beach, the former president of the Iron Horsemen in Maine, was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana following a six-day jury trial. Also convicted on drug conspiracy charges were Sherwood Jordan, of Albany Township, Maine, and Ramon Delossantos, of Haverhill, Mass.
Ouellette said the three were "major players" in a drug distribution ring that led to the arrests of a total of 29 people, mostly from southern Maine. He said with the help of several other agencies, law enforcement officials were able to trace the distribution ring back to drug cartels in Mexico.
The convictions are the result of "Operation Trojan Horse," two years of "steady work" on the part of the York County Sheriff's Office and other agencies, including Biddeford and Old Orchard police, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
After the arrests of several people in southern Maine on drug charges in early 2008, Ouellette said it became apparent that the case had "international implications." There were "large amounts of cocaine, large amounts of marijuana," guns and money, he said.
"That's when we began to reach out to other agencies," Ouellette added.
The sheriff's office made the decision to pursue the drug distribution trail to the source.
"These are the people we want to keep off the streets," Ouellette said.
Investigators were able to determine that the drugs were coming from Mexico, going to Atlanta, then to Haverhill, Mass., and from there to Maine for distribution. The Iron Horsemen had a clubhouse in an Old Orchard Beach house owned by Szpyt. A house on Summit Street in Old Orchard Beach, owned by Robert and Lara Sanborn, was the primary location for the operation's narcotics transactions, according to the sheriff's office.
Ouellette said the case was the "deepest investigation" in which he had ever been involved during his tenure as York County sheriff.
Among the items seized from those convicted in the drug operation were nine motorcycles; three motor vehicles; two pieces of property in Old Orchard Beach; 10 kilos of cocaine; 600 pounds of marijuana; several weapons, including AK 47s, AR 15s, and handguns; and $37,000 cash. The sheriff's office displayed some of the items at a May 18 news conference in the Community Room of the York County Jail. Two large bales of marijuana, the size of a small suitcase, were stacked at one end of the table, along with three large bags of marijuana, a kilo of cocaine and a zip-lock bag of American currency. At the other side was an array of weapons, scales and cutting tools.
Among the equipment seized were two sets of night vision goggles, Ouellette said, pointing out that members of the drug operation were watching their own people, a factor that made the investigation particularly dangerous for the agents involved.
Operation Trojan Horse was a case which could only have reached a conclusion with the help of local, state and federal agencies, Ouellette said.
In addition to Szpyt, Delossantos and Jordan, several others charged in the alleged drug conspiracy have either entered pleas or were convicted at trial. Ouellette said a few cases remain to be adjudicated.
Szpyt, who has two prior felony convictions, faces a sentence of 10 years to life, Ouellette said. Szpyt, Delossantos and Jordan are in federal custody.
https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/611606/united-states-v-sherwood-k-jordan/
United States v. Sherwood K. Jordan, 999 F.2d 11 (1st Cir. 1993)
Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
Selya, Friedman, Cyr
999 F.2d 11
UNITED STATES of America, Appellee,
v.
Sherwood K. JORDAN, Defendant, Appellant.
No. 92-2332.
United States Court of Appeals,
First Circuit.
Heard April 7, 1993.
Decided July 16, 1993.
David G. Webbert with whom Berman & Simmons, P.A., Lewiston, ME, was on brief, for appellant.
F. Mark Terison, Asst. U.S. Atty., with whom Richard S. Cohen, U.S. Atty., and Richard W. Murphy, Asst. U.S. Atty., Portland, ME, were on brief, for appellee.
Before SELYA, Circuit Judge, FRIEDMAN,* Senior Circuit Judge, and CYR, Circuit Judge.
CYR, Circuit Judge.
On December 3, 1991, Maine law enforcement personnel executed a search warrant at the home of appellant Sherwood Jordan, seizing more than a kilogram of marijuana, a triple beam scale, $5,880 in cash, six firearms, and nearly 1000 rounds of assault-rifle ammunition. A federal grand jury subsequently indicted Jordan on six counts of possession of firearms or ammunition by a felon, 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1), 924, and one count of possessing marijuana with intent to distribute, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(D).
Jordan moved to suppress all evidence seized during the search, contending that the warrant was issued without probable cause. Although it expressed "grave reservations as to the sufficiency of the probable cause showing," the district court, relying on the "good faith" exception to the exclusionary rule, see United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 104 S. Ct. 3405, 82 L. Ed. 2d 677 (1984), denied the motion to suppress. Jordan subsequently entered conditional guilty pleas to three firearms charges and the drug distribution charge, reserving the right to appeal the suppression ruling. See Fed.R.Crim.P. 11(a)(2).
A. The Supporting Affidavit.
The search warrant was issued by a state court judge on the strength of the affidavit of Agent Winston McGill of the Maine Bureau of Intergovernmental Drug Enforcement. The affidavit related in great detail two controlled marijuana "buys," within the preceding ten days, from one Donald Moyse, a convicted drug offender, by a confidential informant acting under the direct control and surveillance of Agent McGill. McGill attested that the confidential informant previously had provided reliable tips and had cooperated with local authorities in other controlled marijuana "buys." The affidavit related that Donald Moyse told the confidential informant that the marijuana involved in both controlled "buys" had come from Jordan's residence, and that both "buys" had been conducted in essentially the same manner: the confidential informant would meet with one Cary LaFrance at a local rest stop area and turn over the agreed purchase price (supplied by Agent McGill). LaFrance would drive to Donald Moyse's residence, and the two would proceed to the Jordan residence where the marijuana was kept. Moyse and LaFrance would then meet with the informant at a local school and deliver the marijuana.
On the occasion of each controlled "buy," McGill searched the confidential informant for contraband immediately prior to providing the purchase money; prior to the second "buy," he searched the informant's vehicle as well. McGill then surveilled the unfolding transaction, observing as the informant delivered the "buy" money to LaFrance, following LaFrance to Moyse's house, and watching LaFrance and Moyse as they proceeded to Jordan's residence, then to the local school. In each instance, McGill's affidavit attests, the informant told McGill that the marijuana had been turned over to him by Moyse and LaFrance at the school and that it had been obtained, according to Moyse, at Jordan's residence. Following the second "buy," the informant told McGill that Moyse had stated that there was a "large quantity" of marijuana at the Jordan residence. Finally, the affidavit represented that urinalysis conducted while Moyse was on probation occasionally revealed positive results for marijuana use.
B. The District Court Decision.
Contrary to Jordan's contention on appeal, the district court's "grave reservations as to the sufficiency of the probable cause showing" did not amount to a finding that the warrant was not based on probable cause. "Grave reservations" do not a ruling make. Rather, the district court plainly bypassed any "probable cause" ruling in favor of its functionally distinct reliance on the "good faith" exception to the exclusionary rule. In addition, we agree with the government that the McGill affidavit made a sufficient showing of probable cause.1
C. Probable Cause.
We must accord the issuing judge's "probable cause" determination "great deference," United States v. Scalia, 993 F.2d 984, 986 (1st Cir.1993) (quoting United States v. Ciampa, 793 F.2d 19, 22 (1st Cir.1986)), with a common-sense view to whether the "totality of the circumstances" related in the supporting affidavit, Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 238, 103 S. Ct. 2317, 2332, 76 L. Ed. 2d 527 (1983), gave rise to a fair probability that a search of the target premises would uncover contraband or evidence of a crime. See United States v. Caggiano, 899 F.2d 99, 102 (1st Cir.1990) (citing Gates, 462 U.S. at 238-39, 103 S.Ct. at 2332). The "fair probability" threshold does not require a prima facie showing of criminal activity. Ciampa, 793 F.2d at 22 (citing Gates, 462 U.S. at 235, 103 S.Ct. at 2330-31).
Jordan makes a spirited attack on the McGill affidavit: neither McGill nor the informant had any direct contact with Jordan, nor directly observed any drug buy or transfer at the Jordan residence; Moyse's representations that the marijuana came from Jordan's home are "double hearsay"; Moyse, a marijuana user and convicted drug offender, was not a reliable hearsay declarant and, finally, the affidavit did not demonstrate a "fair probability" that marijuana or related contraband would be found at the Jordan residence since the marijuana Moyse sold to the informant could have come from LaFrance, Moyse, the school, or Jordan's residence.
We agree that nothing in the McGill affidavit excluded the possibility that the marijuana may have come from some place other than the Jordan residence. Nevertheless, viewing the totality of the circumstances related in the affidavit, rather than judging "bits and pieces of information in isolation," United States v. Cochrane, 896 F.2d 635, 637 (1st Cir.) (citing Massachusetts v. Upton, 466 U.S. 727, 732, 104 S. Ct. 2085, 2088, 80 L. Ed. 2d 721 (1984)), cert. denied, 496 U.S. 929, 110 S. Ct. 2627, 110 L. Ed. 2d 647 (1990), the affidavit was sufficient to support the issuing judge's "common-sense" determination of probable cause.
Hearsay statements, like those of Moyse and the informant, often are the stuff of search warrant affidavits. See, e.g., Scalia, 993 F.2d at 985-86; Ciampa, 793 F.2d at 24. Their reliability may be corroborated by various means, including direct surveillance or circumstantial evidence, or vouchsafed by the affiant--in this case a highly experienced law enforcement officer. See, e.g., Scalia, 993 F.2d at 987-88. McGill attested that the confidential informant had provided reliable information and investigative assistance to the police in the past, which may have been sufficient in itself to establish the reliability of the informant's hearsay statements. See, e.g., Ciampa, 793 F.2d at 24 (hearsay conveyed by "proven reliable informant"); cf. United States v. Campbell, 732 F.2d 1017, 1019 (1st Cir.1984) (double hearsay unacceptable basis for probable cause where neither informant nor confidential contact had dealt with police in the past). Moreover, McGill also attested that (i) Moyse was an unwitting participant in the controlled "buy," and (ii) unbeknownst to Moyse, McGill observed Moyse's entrance to Jordan's residence on both occasions, thereby establishing that Moyse was in a position to know whether Jordan kept marijuana at his residence. See Ciampa, 793 F.2d at 24.
Finally, McGill contemporaneously surveilled all conspicuous steps taken in the course of both controlled "buys," which proceeded exactly as foretold by the confidential informant, and included stops at Jordan's home, the site of the search. Thus, independent corroboration lent further credence to the confidential informant's statements (i.e., the location of the marijuana). See United States v. Jorge, 865 F.2d 6, 9 (1st Cir.1989), cert. denied, 490 U.S. 1027, 109 S. Ct. 1762, 104 L. Ed. 2d 198 (1989); see also Gates, 462 U.S. at 244, 103 S.Ct. at 2335 (White, J., concurring) ("Because an informant is right about some things, he is more probably right about other facts....").
Appellant nevertheless correctly observes that these factors in combination do not exclude the possibility that Moyse might have obtained the marijuana at some place along the drug "buy" route other than Jordan's residence. But given the experience and training of the affiant, the confidential informant's proven reliability, and the corroboration of the informant's and Moyse's hearsay reports by means of direct police surveillance, the issuing judge was not required to credit the speculative possibility that the marijuana might have been obtained elsewhere along the drug route than Jordan's residence. Nor may we do so. See Scalia, 993 F.2d at 986 (issuing judge's "probable cause" determination entitled to "great deference"). Viewed in their totality, therefore, the circumstances related in the supporting affidavit, together with reasonable inferences therefrom, provided a "substantial basis" for the issuing judge's common-sense determination that there was a fair probability that Jordan's home contained contraband or evidence of a crime. Caggiano, 899 F.2d at 102 (citing Gates, 462 U.S. at 238-39, 103 S.Ct. at 2332).
Affirmed.
Of the Federal Circuit, sitting by designation
As there was no evidentiary hearing on the motion to suppress, we examine the only supporting evidence--the McGill affidavit--to determine the sufficiency of the probable cause showing. Cf. Leon, 468 U.S. at 925, 104 S.Ct. at 3421-22 (reviewing court may resolve sufficiency of "probable cause" showing before considering "good faith" exception)
No comments:
Post a Comment