JUST SAYING: The Epstein Photos and File Will Never Appear on Fox: Fox and the Trump’s DOJ & White House Connection

19 More Photos From Epstein’s Estate Released, With More To Come — Huffington Post

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JUST SAYING

BY RAUL HERNANDEZ

If you’ve been wondering why Fox isn’t leading the hour with Epstein’s documents, photos, and the ugly paper trail, start with the simplest explanation: Fox’s relationship with Trump’s White House isn’t just ideological — it’s structural:

The pipeline is real. People also don’t just go on Fox to praise Trump; they routinely end up inside his government, shaping what gets said, what gets emphasized, and what gets ignored. VPM+2Media Matters+2

Now the latest twist — drop Smartmatic into that ecosystem:

Smartmatic is the voting-technology company that sued Rupert Murdoch’s Fox for $2.7 billion, alleging Fox amplified Trump-world election lies about the 2020 vote. And that case has survived multiple early attempts to kill it — including a major January 9, 2025, New York appeals-court ruling that Fox Corp must face core parts of the defamation claim. Reuters

On October 16, 2025, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida announced a superseding indictment naming Smartmatic in an alleged scheme involving foreign bribery and money laundering tied to contracts connected to the 2016 Philippine national elections. Department of Justice+1 Smartmatic flatly denied the allegations and portrayed them as politically driven. AP News

And Fox immediately tried to turn that indictment into a legal crowbar.

Fox asked the New York court to pause (stay) Smartmatic’s defamation case, arguing the criminal prosecution would reshape everything.

But on November 24, 2025, a New York judge denied Fox’s bid to pause the case, keeping it on track toward the pretrial phase. Courthouse News+1

And looming over all of it is the precedent Fox already bought—expensively.

• Dominion v. Fox: Fox settled Dominion’s defamation case for $787.5 million in April 2023, avoiding trial over its 2020-election coverage. Reuters+1

• Smartmatic v. Newsmax: Newsmax later disclosed it paid $40 million to settle Smartmatic-related defamation claims (settlement reached in 2024; amount disclosed in 2025 filings/reporting). Reuters+2The Guardian+2

So zoom out and look at the whole picture:

• Fox boosts Trump’s false election narrative.

• Smartmatic sues Fox for it.

• Trump’s DOJ indicts Smartmatic on separate allegations tied to overseas contracts.

• Fox tries to use that indictment to freeze Smartmatic’s defamation suit — and loses (for now). Courthouse News+2Department of Justice+2

Meanwhile, the revolving door between Fox and the White House keeps spinning:

NPR reported on January 20, 2025 that Trump had selected at least 19 former Fox hosts, journalists, and commentators for senior roles in his second-term administration, and Media Matters has tracked two-way staffing flows between Fox and Trump-world for years. VPM+2Media Matters+2