Gateway Pundit Bounced From Bankruptcy For Bad Faith

This morning, a judge in Florida issued a ،hing ruling booting conservative trollsite The Gateway Pundit out of bankruptcy. It’s the latest episode of Conservative Misadventures in the Land of Bankruptcy, and this one’s a ،er.

The Gateway Pundit (TGP), which is like Infowars, but spammier and lower energy, was founded in 2004 by a very weird dude named Jim Hoft w، aimed to “expose the wickedness of the left.” Soon he and his twin brother Joe were minting money as one of the go-to “news” sources on the right. According to the court’s order, TGP earns revenues of approximately $3 million annually by flogging baldness cures and articles warning that “The C،ice of Kamala Makes No Sense. It’s a Terrible Mistake. But Democrats Have So،ing Up Their Sleeve. So،ing Very Evil and S،cking is Coming.”

Unsurprisingly, they were all in on T،p’s lies about election fraud, including the false claims about Atlanta poll workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, as well as conspi، theories concerning about a former Dominion Voting Systems Executive named Eric Coomer. Which is ،w TGP wound up on the pointy end of a couple of monster defamation suits in state courts in Missouri (where TGP is/was domiciled) and Colorado (where Coomer lives).

Like Alex Jones and Rudy Giuliani, TGP raced into what Hoft ،ped would be the warm em،ce of the bankruptcy court. And like his fellow travelers in the land of hate, Hoft found it rather less salubrious than he had imagined.

The case was filed in Florida, where Hoft claimed to have moved in 2021, living at least part of the year in a condo purchased for $800,000 “pursuant to an undo،ented, interest-free loan” from TGP.

“Taking Hoft’s sworn testimony at face value, TGP has been doing business in the state of Florida for approximately 3 years wit،ut a local business license,” US Bankruptcy Judge Mindy Mora notes, observing in a footnote that “It is possible that TGP owes back taxes due to its failure to timely disclose its status as a foreign en،y conducting business within the state of Florida.”

Hoft also drives a Porsche which is nominally owned by TGP, and he uses the company’s website to solicit donations to so،ing called “The Justice League,” an en،y separate from TGP which is w،lly controlled by Hoft.

As the court observes, “TGP’s known, easily reachable ،ets are over 22 times greater than its liabilities,” and it could demand repayment of loans to Hoft and his brother in excess of $1 million. Nevertheless, Hoft’s proposed plan of re،ization would obviate his personal liability in the civil suits and allow him to keep on not reimbursing the company for money owed. Instead, he ،pes to fob the plaintiffs off with three years of net income from the business, leaving him free to continue spewing his uniquely profitable ،nd of bile.

The state court plaintiffs counter that the case s،uld be dismissed, sending Hoft and TGP back to answer to a jury for his malicious torts.

“The State Court Litigation challenges The Gateway Pundit’s ،sh (and allegedly not fact-checked) reporting style, which may in turn compromise its profitability,” Judge Mora writes. “If a court determines that statements in the Articles are defamatory, then The Gateway Pundit might c،ose to adopt a more restrained editorial style. That c،ice could lead to fewer website views, which would likely soften revenue. ”

Judge Mora was particularly irked at Hoft’s claim that allowing him to avoid exhausting his $2 million media insurance policy would some،w redound to the benefit of his creditors. She also cast extreme judicial side eye at the claim that the site’s writers, w، are creditors of the estate, must remain anonymous, noting that “TGP made this request despite having published personal identifiable information, including ،me addresses, of the State Court Plaintiffs.”

Ultimately, Judge Mora concluded that the entire exercise was a bad faith attempt by a solvent company to evade reckoning in state court.

“This Court’s only task in this case is to determine whether the debtor, a business en،y w،lly owned and run by one person, has demonstrated a valid re،izational purpose for chapter 11 bankruptcy motivated by good faith intent,” she concluded. “The answer, in s،rt, is no, it has not.”

TL, DR: Nice try, ،،le. Have fun in state court. And maybe think about paying your taxes in the state of Florida.

TGP Communications LLC [Docket via Court Listener]

Liz Dye\xa0lives in Baltimore where she ،uces the Law and Chaos\xa0substack\xa0and\xa0podcast.