‘Fact-Check This Crap’: The 5 Juiciest Fox News Revelations in Smartmatic’s Newly-Unredacted Court Filing

AP Photo/Richard Drew, File

A slew of private text messages from current and former Fox News hosts were made public on Tuesday night after a judicial hearing officer unredacted parts of a motion filed by Smartmatic.

Smartmatic, which provided election technology to Los Angeles County for the 2020 election, is suing Fox for $2.7 billion for defamation. After the 2020 election, President Donald Trump falsely alleged the contest had been rigged against him. In the ensuing weeks, some Fox News hosts and guests echoed those claims and singled out Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems for having played a role in getting Joe Biden elected. In 2023, Fox settled a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion for $787.5 million.

Smartmatic’s motion was filed in late April, but only now are many of the texts from Fox News employees in it public after being recently unredacted. The unredactions were first reported by The Washington Post on Tuesday night.

Here are the five juiciest revelations from the filing:

Jeanine Pirro bragged about helping Trump and the Republican Party.

Jeanine Pirro, a former Fox News host and current U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, bragged about helping Trump and the GOP, despite Fox’s prohibition on hosts getting involved in politics.

“I work so hard for the party across the country,” Pirro told then-Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel in a text message in September 2020. At the time, Pirro hosted Justice with Judge Jeanine. “I’m the Number 1 watched show on all news cable all weekend. I work so hard for the President and party.”

The filing also reveals that Pirro hoped to secure a pardon for her ex-husband, Albert Pirro, who was convicted of tax evasion and conspiracy. Trump eventually granted him one.

Pirro called Fox News colleague Sean Hannity an “egomaniac” and said he used Trump’s private bathroom in the Oval Office

In another text message, from Oct. 27, 2020, Pirro accused Sean Hannity of being an “egomanic” and cited Hannity’s behavior at the White House.

Hannity “[stormed] in like he owns the place, throws his papers on the Pres desk and says, you don’t mind if I use your private bathroom, and walks into bathroom within Oval and uses it. Looks at me and says, I got to talk to him … It’s all abt him, period. No one else matters.”

Pirro’s own producer told her to cool it on election fraud allegations.

Pirro’s producer at the time was Jerry Andrews, who warned the host against making claims of election fraud.

“You should be very careful with this stuff and protect yourself given the ongoing calls for evidence that has not materialized,” Andrews told her.

Later, Pirro became incensed when Fox News declined to air the Nov. 7 episode of her show. Earlier that day, the election was called for Biden several days after Election Day. She responded by texting Hannity.

“I’M TIRED OF THE CENSORSHIP AND I’M EMBARRASSED BY HOW THEY CALLED THIS ELECTION,” she wrote to her colleague. Hannity responded by trying to placate her.

“Fox News promoting u every 5 seconds. It’s hilarious,” he texted.

Jesse Watters said that Fox going “all in” on election fraud claims would be a ratings bonanza.

“Think about how incredible our ratings would be if Fox went ALL in on STOP THE STEAL,” Jesse Watters texted Fox’s Greg Gutfeld in December 2020 as Trump was ramping up his efforts to overturn the election. In a text the day after the election, Watters expressed concern about audience backlash after Fox was the first network to call Arizona for Biden.

“There’s an audience uprising vs. Fox like I’ve never seen,” he texted a producer.

A producer at the network told Watters that “you cannot, under any circumstances, cast doubt” on the election because “the powers that be are not having any of it.”

On the same day, Watters texted Fox colleague Pete Hegseth, who is now Secretary of Defense.

“By the way, did you get the memo about not saying fraud?” Watters asked.

Bret Baier told Fox executives that Maria Bartiromo’s election coverage needed fact-checking.

Bret Baier texted Fox News executive Jay Wallace to express dismay at the election coverage provided by Maria Bartiromo.

“None of that is true as far as we can tell,” Baier wrote. “We need to fact-check this crap.”