Editor's note:This article has been updated to include a statement from Fox News Media, along with additional context about the Trump administration's indictment of Smartmatic.
Bret Baier – a veteran primetime host on Fox News — was apoplectic at President Donald Trump's refusal to concede his 2020 election loss, according to recently released text messages.
The Guardian's Jeremy Barr reported Monday on the text messages, which were released as part of voting machine company Smartmatic's lawsuit against the conservative news network. One exchange between Baier and an unnamed recipient was particularly noteworthy in that the broadcaster used profanity to describe his feelings in the wake of then-President-elect Joe Biden's win over Trump.
"I am tired. And p——. And running out of suits in NYC and there are no f—— bars open. Or casinos," Baier wrote several days after the election. "I may just tear some Trump campaign spokesperson's head off tomorrow. That speech tonight was heinous. Totally heinous."
The speech Baier referred to was likely the Nov. 5, 2020 speech Trump delivered at the White House, in which he repeated the debunked claim that millions of votes were cast illegally in an effort to steal the election. He repeatedly alleged "election interference" from "powerful special interests," and said "phony polls" were conducted in an effort to demoralize his base.
"In Georgia, a pipe burst in a faraway location, totally unrelated to the location of what was happening, and they stopped counting for four hours, and a lot of things happened. The election apparatus in Georgia is run by Democrats," Trump said of Georgia's 2020 election, where he narrowly lost by less than 12,000 votes.
Fox settled a separate defamation lawsuit by voting machine manufacturer Dominion Voting Systems in 2023 for $787.5 million. The network has so far failed to settle with Smartmatic, which insists on a public trial. The network's bid to delay the trial — which does not yet have a firm date — due to the Trump administration's indictment against the company was rejected on Monday by the judge overseeing the case, according to Barr.
"Today’s decision is an important victory for Smartmatic as we progress in our efforts to hold Fox accountable for its lies," a company statement read. "The court made clear that Fox’s attempts to delay accountability won’t work, and its day of reckoning is coming."
In an official statement, Fox News Media told AlterNet: "While we respectfully disagree with the court’s decision not to pause the case at this time, it doesn’t change the fact that Smartmatic—a company that describes itself as putting 'integrity over profits' —has been indicted by a federal grand jury for international bribery and money laundering and has a criminal trial currently scheduled for next Spring. We continue to look forward to defending our First Amendment rights on summary judgment and at trial."
The indictment the network is referring to was handed down by a grand jury in October, with the Trump administration alleging that company officials bribed officials in the Philippines in excess of $1 million to win contracts. The company stated at the time that it "categorically den[ies] those allegations" and called the indictment "wrong on the facts and wrong on the law."