In other words, the chairman of the company that owns the programming distributor that dropped OAN and Newsmax, is also an executive board member of the firm that owns the voting company thats suing both outlets. Mr. Kennard joined AT&Ts board of directors in 2014. In a lawsuit that OAN filed against AT&T and DirecTV in March 2022 alleging breach of contract, owner Herring Networks asserted that Kennard is motivated to use his role and position of influence at AT&T to induce DIRECTV not to continue its carriage of OAN, to the benefit of Kennard, Staple Street, and Dominion and to the detriment of OAN. The lawsuit stipulated that [w]hen DIRECTVs [Chief Content Officer]Rob Thun informed Herring of the decision not to renew the Affiliation Agreement, Thun added that the decision was political and was made at the board level, implying that AT&T leadership such as Kennard influenced the nonrenewal decision.. So, laterals and law students unless you actually want to be involved in a case like this (in which case you probably have your heart set on working for Jones Day) keep these cases in mind when youre interviewing with Vedder Price. And Foley & Lardner, Fox Rothschild, and Barnes & Thornburg quickly parted ways with partners who took on problematic representations. Registration or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. What Better Place To Network Than The Facebook Friends List? "This is an action to redress the unchecked influence and power that And one way to hasten Herrings defeat is by cutting off Herrings ability to earn revenue to help fund its defense.. The former owner of the Nashville AT&T building that was bombed, William Kennard, is a board member for Cerberus Capital Management and on the Board of Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Dominion Voting Systems is owned by Staple Street Capital. Ambassador Kennard is a graduate of Stanford University and Yale Law School. https://useu.usmission.gov/mission/useu/former-useu-ambassadors/william-e-kennard/. The federal judiciary is getting more diverse. Therefore, the Democracy Suite 5.5-A system and corresponding hardware devices do not meet the standards for certification prescribed by Section 122.001 of the Texas Election Code. Kennard served as head of the FCC during President Bill Clintons second term, from 1997 to 2001. Most normal honest people knowthis election was/is stolen. ATT/CNN has a massive conflict of interest even _covering_ the election at all! But researchers found 35 of the systems have been connected to the internet for months and possibly years, including in some swing states. By Kim Zetter 8.8.19, VICE: https://archive.is/9oAcP. During his tenure, he shaped policies that created an explosion of new wireless phones, brought the Internet to a majority of American households, and resulted in billions of dollars of investment in new broadband technologies. The suit, filed in California Superior Court, alleges the nonrenewal will result in damage to Herring exceeding $1 billion and says, As a result of the conduct of AT&T, AT&T Services, DirecTV, and Kennard, OAN and AWE might be forced off the air because Herring will no longer be able to broadcast OAN and AWE via DirecTV and Herring presently has limited alternative carriage options.. Link: https://www.sos.texas.gov/elections/forms/sysexam/dominion-d-suite-5.5-a.pdf Ambassador to the EU, Ambassador Kennard was Managing Director of The Carlyle Group, a global private equity firm with over $100 billion under management. The Maricopa County Recorder has indicated that Dominion representatives were among the staff at their Central Counting Place in the 2020 General Elections. After propping up DirecTVs excuse that it didnt give Newsmax a carriage fee due to supposedly low ratings, Newsweek noted Newsmaxs point that the leftist Vice TV receives full carriage and license fees from DirecTV, despite having an audience of [only] 60,000, according to USTVDB figures.. JEEZE and the fact that the election officer in Maricopa never SHOWED UP to sign off on the machines being validated NOPE nothing to see here!!! Kennard is one of the three executive board members of Staple Street Capital, the middle market private equity firm that along with the Dominion Voting Systems Yesterday, the left lost their collective minds when President Trump tweeted a potentially massive voter fraud scheme related to Dominion Voting Systems: REPORT: DOMINION DELETED 2.7 MILLION TRUMP VOTES NATIONWIDE. My mother worked elections for years in central Ohio in the 1950s and 1960s. AT&T board Chairman William Kennard is a registered Democrat who was appointed FCC chairman by President Bill Clinton in 1997 and ambassador to the Ambassador Kennard joined The Carlyle Group in May 2001, where he specialized in investments in the telecommunications and media sectors. Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual However, we have been unable to find the filing on the SEC.gov web site. While firms like Snell & Wilmer and Porter Wright withdrew from controversial cases rather than deal with the blowback. Update note: There are media reports that Elliott Management sold its AT&T stock and that its in a November 16, 2020 filing. Feel free to email herwith any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1). The year of invincibility 24 February 2023 08:03, UN General Assembly Passes Resolution Demanding that Russia Immediately, Completely and Unconditionally, Withdraw All of its Military Forces from the Internationally Recognized Borders of Ukraine and Cease Hostilities; Votes Against & Abstentions Reveal Supporters of Wars of Aggression; Those Abstaining Include India; China; SouthAfrica, Former CIA Agent Advisor to Kissinger (Putin Advisor), Ray McGovern Tries to Pin Blame for Nord Stream 2 Pipeline Blast on the USA; Speaks in Bad German-Sings About Loving Enemies at UN; LaRoucheConnection. 1 VEDDER PRICE (CA), LLP ERIC R. MCDONOUGH (SB It was reportedly due to pressure, by Singer-Elliott, that AT&T is outsourcing American jobs to India H1B visa workers, putting America last. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1326926226888544256?s=20. He also shaped the outcome of the most significant communications mergers in history, such as AOL-Time Warner, Worldcom-MCI, CBS-Viacom, Verizon-GTE and SBC-Ameritech. AT&T SportsNet, Another Regional Sports Network, Could Be Declaring Bankruptcy This Month, Apple TV+ Is Looking Into Streaming More Live Sports, Megyn Kelly Mocks NBCs Savannah Guthrie For Getting Covid: Shes Had All The Vaccines And Boosters, CNN Hits 10-Year Low As Fox News Glides To Victory In Cable News Ratings. In exchange, AT&T promised to carry OAN and another network owned by Herring Networks (A Wealth of Entertainment, or AWE) on the video platforms U-Verse and AT&T. Staple Street Capital is owned by Cerberus Capital Management and Staple Street Capital executives run Cerberus Capital Management. William Kennard is a Majority Owner at Dominion Energy based in Richmond, Virginia. Hootan Yaghoobzadeh and Stephen D. Owens, both of Staple Street, are on the new Dominion board with Canadian founder, John Poulos. However, the lawsuit claims that on January 14, 2022 OAN President Charles Herring was told by DirecTV SVP of Content Rob Thun that they were dropping the network and the decision was made at the Board level and was political.. AT&T got a contract to do forensic audit on Dominion US Election Fraud WarnerMedia is a leading media and entertainment company that creates and distributes premium and popular content to global audiences through its consumer brands, including: HBO, HBO Max, Warner Bros., TNT, TBS, truTV, CNN, DC Entertainment, New Line, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and Turner Classic Movies. During his tenure, William E. Kennard fought to bring the benefits of a more competitive marketplace to all consumers. The FCC adopted policies to increase telephone service to rural areas, especially for Native Americans living on tribal lands. Kennard serves on the boards of Duke Energy Corporation, Ford Motor Company and MetLife, Inc. AFP has not obtained any rights from the authors or copyright owners of this third party content and shall incur no liability in this regard. Kennards role with Staple Street creates a conflict of interest for him in anything having to do with Herring because Dominion, owned largely by Staple Street, currently is suing Herring for $1.6 billion. Kennard was previously the ambassador to the European Union under Obama, and served as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission during Clintons presidency. Inventor of Email (@va_shiva) November 11, 2020. Email: daphne.avila@att.com, Internet Explorer presents a security risk. One America News Accuses 'Liberal Organizations' of Getting The goal of THE THINKING CONSERVATIVE is to help us educate ourselves on conservative topics of importance to our freedom and our pursuit of happiness. In 2014, OAN entered into a carriage agreement with AT&T. management. AT&T got a contract to do forensic audit on Dominion voting machines and those machines were being moved to Nashville this past week, says a December 27, 2020 Facebook post. In July 2018, Dominion Voting Systems (Dominion Voting) announced that it has been acquired by its management team and Staple Street Capital, a leading New York -based, middle-market private equity firm Staple Street Capital, where William Earl Kennard was an executive board member. Brent Bozell Slams Media at CPAC: No Longer Liberal, They're Marxist! One America News Network, an avid supporter of Donald Trump during his presidency, is still on track to get kicked off of the massive DirecTV satellite platform next month. 21, 2023. The I Love Soros matching T-shirts and BLM hoodies gave a first clue. This is a BETA experience. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. All rights reserved. The United States of America is Star Spangled Awesome! But, before we dig further into the allegations in the case and we will, as this is a legal industry website the question of which lawyers threw in their lot with the far right of the broadcasting world lords over the whole matter. Dr.SHIVA Ayyadurai, MIT PhD. 4. After the FCC approved the acquisition in 2015, Herring claims AT&T and DirecTV reneged on their promise to carry OAN and AWE, forcing Herring to file suit. Interestingly, Federal Election Commission records suggest that Kennard donated the maximum-allowed individual contribution for the 2022 electoral cycle of $5,800 to Friends of Schumer [affiliated with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)] on Nov. 30, 2021. Pinion would go on to lose his bid in the November 2022 midterm elections, and Newsmax would be axed from AT&Ts DirecTV the following January. Theres also an allegation that the confidentiality provision of the contract was violated when the coming nonrenewal was disclosed to the press. No response was given as of the publication of this article. He also was Bill Clintons FCC chair, and Obamas Ambassador to the EU. Kennard is one of the three executive board members of Staple Street Capital, the middle market private equity firm that along with the Dominion Voting Systems management team acquired Dominion Voting Systems in 2018. Content should be organized in different stages, from when potential clients search for initial information to eventually contacting your law firm. Accordingly, based upon the foregoing, I hereby deny certification of Dominion Voting Systems Democracy Suite 5.5-A system for use in Texas elections. Why Doesnt Elon Musk Fund Twitter Until It Turns Around? An explosion ripped through downtown Nashville on Christmas Day, killing the man suspected of setting off the bomb in the southern city, according to federal prosecutor Don Cochran. 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Herring did not take issue with the term of the Advertising Agreement because Herring had a reasonable belief that the Affiliation Agreement would be renewed. Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements. Dominion won Georgias $107 million elections contract this summer because it was the lowest bidder not the best, according to score sheets from six state He reached out to create more ownership and employment opportunities for women and minorities.