Dem
47
GOP
53
Some reparations payments, like the ones required of Germany (and other defeated powers) in the Treaty of Versailles don't work so well. But that doesn't mean that all reparations payments are misguided. Case in point: The monthly payments that outspoken Islamophobe and Trump insider Laura Loomer has been making to Muslim civil-rights group CAIR.
We've actually been trying to get to this item for a while, but other things kept pushing it aside. The short version of events is that CAIR is one of Loomer's favorite targets, and she's made all sorts of vile claims about them. It's pretty hard to defame a public entity, and if Loomer had contented herself with just running her mouth, she probably would have gotten away with it. However, she decided to pull a favorite trick out of the right-wing-agitator bag, and to sue CAIR, claiming that when the platform then known as Twitter restricted her account, CAIR was behind it.
That is a rather tough assertion to prove. And even if you CAN prove it, we're not so sure it's actionable. After all, anyone can complain about any account they want, and (now) eX-Twitter can do as they see fit, inasmuch as they are a private business and are not bound by the First Amendment. Predictably, then, Loomer's case went nowhere. Actually, it's probably more accurate to say it went backwards. Not only did she not win, but she was ordered to pay $125,000 in court costs and attorney's fees to CAIR. The verdict was upheld on appeal. Loomer's attorneys negotiated it down to $73,500 in late 2023, payable in monthly installments of $2,400.
Although a settlement usually means "OK, I will agree to stop fighting this in exchange for more favorable terms," Loomer decided to head back to court late last year and ask the payments be ended, after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) had designated CAIR as a "terrorist organization," Even if that was true, it's not clear to us what that has to do with Loomer's phony lawsuit about Twitter. And beyond that, the politically motivated proclamations of Ron DeSantis do not impress federal judges. So, Loomer's attempt to re-open the case was laughed out of court, and she'll keep writing $2,400 checks each month for most of the rest of this year.
After yet another victory over Loomer, a statement from CAIR read, in part: "We look forward to receiving Ms. Loomer's next check and, insha Allah, once again using her money to defend American Muslims from hate while advancing civil rights for everyone in our nation." (Z)