The Gateway Pundit just had its bankruptcy dismissed. Now, the far-right
blog will face defamation lawsuits that threaten its future.
Jack Newsham
Jul 25, 2024, 10:55 AM EDT

The Gateway Pundit is a far-right website known for spreading
conspiracy theories.
It makes $3 million a year but filed for bankruptcy to stop lawsuits
filed by 2020 election workers.
But a bankruptcy judge said the case was filed in bad faith and said
TGP has to face the music.

A bankruptcy judge threw out a case brought by the publisher of the Gateway
Pundit on Thursday, opening the door for Georgia poll workers and a
Dominion Voting Systems employee to move forward with their libel lawsuits
against the company.

The Gateway Pundit, a blog known for publishing conspiracy theories about
vaccines and the 2020 election results, filed for bankruptcy in April to
stop the lawsuits. Jim Hoft, who admitted that he used company funds to buy
a condo and a Porsche Cayenne, proposed using $1.3 million from an
insurance policy and revenue from the next three years to settle the
lawsuits.

But the judge, who sits in the Southern District of Florida, said that's
not what bankruptcy is supposed to be used for. She said Georgia poll
workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss and Dominion employee Eric Coomer, who
were falsely accused by the Gateway Pundit of helping rig the 2020
election, are entitled to move forward with their state-court lawsuits �
for now, at least.

"TGP remains both balance sheet and cash flow solvent," Judge Mindy Mora
wrote. "There is no present financial distress, no looming foreclosure
sale, no prospect of a market crash. There is only the state court
litigation in which TGP must defend itself. That's not a basis for
bankruptcy relief; it's the justice system in operation."
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The Gateway Pundit made about $3 million in each of the last two years, the
judge wrote, and "appears on track to match those years" in 2024. But the
website's future is less certain, the judge wrote.

"If a court determines that statements in the articles are defamatory, then
The Gateway Pundit might choose to adopt a more restrained editorial
style," the decision said. "That choice could lead to fewer website views,
which would likely soften revenue."

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Hoft and his site are two of many people and businesses to face defamation
suits over their coverage of the 2020 election. Dominion Voting Systems
itself got more than $700 million in a settlement with Fox News. And
Freeman and Moss won a $148 million verdict against Rudy Guiliani, and his
bankruptcy case was also thrown out earlier this month.

Rachel Strickland, a lawyer for Moss and Freeman, praised the decision and
told Business Insider in an email that her clients would keep pursuing
Hoft, his brother, and the Gateway Pundit in court.
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"While we greatly appreciate the judge's careful consideration of the facts
of this case, we believe some of the findings are not supported by the
existing law or underlying circumstances presented at the hearing or
otherwise contained within the record," said Bart Houston, a lawyer for
TGP, in an email. The company, he said, "continues to consider its options
and will move forward in its legal and business path."

https://www.businessinsider.com/gateway-pundit-bankruptcy-dismissed-bad-
faith-defamation-lawsuits-2024-7