# A Perfectly Reasonable Amount of Schadenfreude about Things Happening to Trump & His Enablers (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 14, 2020, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537 "2020-11-14T00:09:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 317
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/6327 "2022-08-05T00:19:46Z")
My starry-eyed prediction is that the relatively low amount in damages is because it’s hard to justify that these ordinary private citizens (not CEOs of giant companies, not high-powered celebrities) could out much more than a few million dollars from the defamation. It’s not intended to hurt Jones, and isn’t going to. But there is ample evidence that Jones and Infowars rake in a lot of money and have a massive amount stashed somewhere. For him to not shrug it off, the punitive amount will have to be huge. And it will be. I don’t see there being much mercy for him in this, given all that has happened. I expect that the number tomorrow will be satisfactory. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/6328 "2022-08-05T00:37:41Z")
Will the putative damage number be out as soon as tomorrow? Does the same jury decide this! ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/6329 "2022-08-05T00:43:21Z")
Yes and yes. Here is some info. [https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/mistrial-denied-jury-weighs-damages-against-alex-jones-sandy-hook-defamation-2022-08-04/](https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/mistrial-denied-jury-weighs-damages-against-alex-jones-sandy-hook-defamation-2022-08-04/) > The 12-person jury will next consider the parents’ request for punitive damages from Jones for spreading falsehoods about the killing of 20 children and six staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on Dec. 14, 2012. > > Those deliberations are expected to begin after both sides on Friday present arguments on Jones’ net worth. So **potentially** tomorrow, but not guaranteed. And while it says the parents requested as much as $75 million, I’ve heard of numerous cases where a jury decides that what was requested isn’t enough to sting, and award even more. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/6330 "2022-08-05T01:16:13Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > Plus a few sash weights as a bonus. I’m an old-fashioned kind of guy – a washtub and a couple sacks of portland cement. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/6331 "2022-08-05T01:44:34Z")
Hmmm. Perhaps the noose is tightening just a wee bit. [https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/04/politics/trump-justice-department-january-6-criminal-investigation/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/04/politics/trump-justice-department-january-6-criminal-investigation/index.html) > Trump has specifically been counseled to cut contact with his former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, whose actions leading up to and on the day of the US Capitol insurrection have been deeply scrutinized by the House panel ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/6332 "2022-08-05T01:46:55Z")
Wouldn’t it be funny if he just croaked himself? ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/6333 "2022-08-05T01:57:26Z")
For me, disappointing. I wanna be there when the tumbrel goes by. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/6334 "2022-08-05T02:03:53Z")
It’s hard to say what Trump “knows”, “thinks”, or “feels”, but it pleases me to think that for an ordinary person, these experiences would constitute a living hell. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/6335 "2022-08-05T03:14:36Z")
And there are two more penalty trials after this one where Jones didn’t show up so there was a default judgement. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/6336 "2022-08-05T03:38:43Z")
Sounds like something out of a movie: [The Verdict](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Verdict?wprov=sfla1) ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/6337 "2022-08-05T12:26:26Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > That data now belongs to the prosecution, _in toto_. Civil trial, so I believe the correct term is “plaintiff” (possibly “plaintiff’s attorney”, not sure who would have control). ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/6338 "2022-08-05T13:55:49Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Wouldn’t it be funny if he just croaked himself? No, it wouldn’t. First, and foremost, suicide is not a joke and is never funny. Second, the right would just blame it on the Clinton’s for the next 40 years. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/6339 "2022-08-05T13:59:37Z")
More information about the ‘phone’. Apparently it wasn’t just a phone, it was a data image of a Connecticut attorney’s hard drive, this attorney working on the Proud Boys case, defending them from J6. > **["It's a Tremendous Amount of Information:" The Details about Alex Jones' Phone...](https://www.emptywheel.net/2022/08/04/its-a-tremendous-amount-of-information-the-details-about-alex-jones-phone/)** > > After accidentally sharing information with plaintiffs lawyer, Alex Jones' lawyers were put in a position where they had to admit to failing to comply with discovery or clawing back the information. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/6340 "2022-08-05T16:17:51Z")
To the question of who fucked up and how, the following two orders to appear just showed up on the Superior Court docket in Waterbury, CT [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52265160731_1cf2e50c25_z.jpg "20220805\_105918") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/68782016@N08/52265160731/) [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52265641640_a4bd03d8c1_z.jpg "20220805\_105928") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/68782016@N08/52265641640/) ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/6341 "2022-08-05T16:25:32Z")
Oooooooh… Somebody got in trouble… ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/6342 "2022-08-05T17:20:22Z")
What is the cap for punitive damages in Texas? I’ve seen conflicting reports online, with some sources saying punitive damages are capped at 2X compensatory damages plus $750,000, and others saying it’s 10X compensatory damages. Maybe somebody familiar with the legal system in Texas can weigh in. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/6343 "2022-08-05T17:43:17Z")
I’m not an expert in Texas law. FWIW Ari Melber reported yesterday that punitive damages are limited to 10 times the compensatory damages. So if that’s true, it would cap at $40 million. That might sound like a lot of dough, but it doesn’t seem like enough to me. Needs another digit. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/6344 "2022-08-05T17:55:47Z")
According to the NY Times, as of 25 minutes ago: > The jurors have left the courtroom to decide on the amount of punitive damages, if any, that Jones must pay Lewis and Heslin for defaming them with his Infowars broadcasts denying the truth of the shooting and implying on his show that Heslin was lying when he spoke publicly about cradling his son’s body after the shooting. The jury is now deliberating. We are awaiting their verdict. Also: > On Friday, Wesley Todd Ball, a lawyer for the family…asked the jury for about $146 million, in addition to the $4 million awarded Thursday. It would seem odd to me that he would be allowed to ask for damages in that amount if they were capped by statute at $40 million. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/6345 "2022-08-05T18:05:04Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > ["It's a Tremendous Amount of Information:" The Details about Alex Jones' Phone - emptywheel](https://www.emptywheel.net/2022/08/04/its-a-tremendous-amount-of-information-the-details-about-alex-jones-phone/) > 2.3GB of it is phone material, including “intimate messages with Roger Stone” Stone is out as gay or bisexual, I believe. So this could well mean something different than “talking about private family concerns”. Though, it could mean that too. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/6346 "2022-08-05T18:06:21Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > What is the cap for punitive damages in Texas? I’ve seen conflicting reports online, with some sources saying punitive damages are capped at 2X compensatory damages plus $750,000, and others saying it’s 10X compensatory damages. From what I can tell, that is accurate for personal injury cases in Texas. As in, you slip and fall on the ice in a parking lot and sue someone. > **[Damage Caps In Texas | MCMINN LAW FIRM](https://www.mcminnlaw.com/damage-caps-in-texas/)** > > Damage caps can affect personal injury outcomes. Why critics say that damage caps in Texas limit a plaintiff's ability to recover financially. [https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.41.htm](https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.41.htm) I’m not sure that applies to a defamation case. (I’m not a lawyer so don’t take my opinion as fact, or even a particularly informed one.) I found this page, which implies that the jury has very wide discretion in determining damages for defamation cases. [https://www.lawpipe.com/Texas/Texas\_Defamation\_Cases\_Damages\_Types.html](https://www.lawpipe.com/Texas/Texas_Defamation_Cases_Damages_Types.html) That’s the best I can dig up. I find a lot of information on what Texas determines to be defamation, but very little about how damages are determined. But if the jury does in fact have wide discretion, that would make sense; personal injury damages are very structured and have clear caps so you can find that info easily. If defamation damages are more nebulous, then there isn’t a lot to write about. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537.md?page=316) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537.md?page=318)