Bradlee and Jake go further 'round the bend

Persons in the more remote precincts may be unaware that Bradley Dean Smith and the You Can Run But You Cannot Hide patent medicine show and affiliated filling station grifters sued NBC, MSNBC, Rachel Maddow, The Minnesota Independent, and MinnIndy's reporter Andy Birkey for defamation to the tune of [hysterical laughter; sorry] $50 million.

Of all of the colossally stupid things Smith may have ever done, this one is going to prove to be right at the top.

The suit is about, as most readers know, the re-publication (by MSNBC and MinnIndy) of remarks that Smith made on the radio about the morality of Muslims because at least they have the good sense to execute gays (I'm paraphrasing here). In spite of what Smith says now, it is no stretch of the imagination to believe that he made the comment because he thought it was a Really Good Idea. The radio archives are replete with remarks by Smith and his radio sidekick, Jake, over a long period of time making it abundantly clear that Smith's protestations of innocence now are bunkum.

Smith is really seeking to have Maddow and Birkey take back Bradlee's own words, but they're like toothpaste: when they're out of the tube, they're out. He could apologize now, say he was wrong, and beg forgiveness of the God he pretends to worship, but that's not Bradlee's style.

The suit cannot be won. Smith has a better shot at being hit by a meteor. As a shameless, pandering media hound, Smith is obviously a public person; in addition to proving material untrue statements were made about him (which he can't; see the paragraphs above), it has to be proved that the defendants bore actual malice toward him. In other words, the defendants had to know the statements were false and intended to harm Smith and his "ministry."

In one of the more endearing passages in the complaint, Smith pleads malice "on information and belief."

You cannot allege the fact central to your case - malice - on information and belief. On information and belief, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and therefore I ask the Congress for a Declaration of War.

It is also reported somewhere - I cannot remember where - that, according to Smith, MSNBC's slogan "Lean Forward" is also evidence of the network's liberal homosexualist anti-Judeo-Christian agenda.

Boys and girls, allegations like these are why the word "flimsy" was invented.

To win a defamation suit, you also have to prove that your reputation was harmed. How was Smith harmed? Tom Pritchard won't call him any more? If anybody's reputation was harmed, it was Michele Bachmann's for the score or more times she's mentioned in the complaint.

On top of all of this, the lawsuit does not belong in District of Columbia where it was filed. The complaint identifies Maddow, NBC and MSNBC as New Yorkers. MinnIndy and Andy Birkey are Minnesotans; so are the plaintiffs. None of the parties is domiciled or resides in D.C.

It is claimed that the defendants "do business in the District of Columbia," but the only reason I can see for filing the case there is that Smith's lawyer, Larry Klayman, is licensed to practice in D.C. It's pretty unusual to venue a case for the convenience of the plaintiff's lawyer.

This suit is laughable on so many grounds. I personally hope, though, that it survives long enough for discovery about YCRBUCH's operation to take place and for Bradley and Jake's depositions to be taken. You really have to wonder what kind of investigation Klayman took before filing this stinker.

Ken Avidor at Dump Michele Bachmann has a post about Bradlee and Jake's efforts to raise money for their legal defense. Which is curious, of course, because they are the plaintiffs, not the defendants. That's where I got the link to the complaint.