The Duggars: In the Media and TLC

[kokapetl]

Generally, civil cases don't get into depositions all that soon after filing. I assume that in a case like this the defendants will first file a motion to dismiss, and only if the case survives that, would the discovery phase commence. That's when depositions are taken. Also, generally, the depositions do not become part of the public court file of the case. I'm not familiar with Arkansas procedures, of course, just speaking generally. So if this case gets as far as discovery, and depositions are taken, they aren't necessarily going to become a matter of public record. If the case survives motions to dismiss and is settled, there's likely to be a confidentiality provision. Just saying, it's not a certainty (a) that anybody's going to be deposed or (b) that any such depositions would be disclosed to the public.

As much as it may make both parties look like whores, they'd be insane not to settle. Would anyone even need to know they had settled?

[Dianaofthehunt]

Oh, I fervently hope this law suit goes forward. The utter gratifying-ness of ill-gotten Duggar cash flowing into the coffers of a WOMAN.  (after attorneys' fees, of course.)

Plate of schadenfreude? Why, don't mind if I do!

Edited July 1, 2015 by Dianaofthehunt

[galax-arena]

Would anyone even need to know they had settled?

IANAL, but I believe so. The terms of the settlement would most likely be confidential, though.

 

So yeah, I think the Duggars would be crazy not to settle. I mean, from a PR perspective they've already essentially admitted that the police report was true, even if they shied away from the words 'molestation' or 'abuse.' Going forward with this case would most likely only bring a lot of additionally unsavory information to light. So, from my not-a-lawyer point of view, they'd be best off settling and insisting on confidential terms of settlement. People will know they settled, but the only thing that will "tell" us is that the initial police report is true, which we already ~know. They won't be giving anything else away. (And I know that sometimes people settle cases even when they're not guilty!) And then they can (try to) spin the situation to say that they settled in order to move forward as a family.

 

Would there be any advantages in refusing to settle? Aside from the obvious financial perspective? 

 

... I did mention that I'm not a lawyer, right? ;)

[Churchhoney]

IANAL, but I believe so. The terms of the settlement would most likely be confidential, though.

 

So yeah, I think the Duggars would be crazy not to settle. I mean, from a PR perspective they've already essentially admitted that the police report was true, even if they shied away from the words 'molestation' or 'abuse.' Going forward with this case would most likely only bring a lot of additionally unsavory information to light. So, from my not-a-lawyer point of view, they'd be best off settling and insisting on confidential terms of settlement. People will know they settled, but the only thing that will "tell" us is that the initial police report is true, which we already ~know. They won't be giving anything else away. (And I know that sometimes people settle cases even when they're not guilty!) And then they can (try to) spin the situation to say that they settled in order to move forward as a family.

 

Would there be any advantages in refusing to settle? Aside from the obvious financial perspective? 

 

... I did mention that I'm not a lawyer, right? ;)

 

 

I'm not a lawyer either. This seems right to me, though. I would love to have a window into JB's arrogant, stupid, ignorant brain as he struggles to figure out how he can make this go away without losing his very favorite thing -- money. 

[kokapetl]

IANAL, but I believe so. The terms of the settlement would most likely be confidential, though.

So yeah, I think the Duggars would be crazy not to settle. I mean, from a PR perspective they've already essentially admitted that the police report was true, even if they shied away from the words 'molestation' or 'abuse.' Going forward with this case would most likely only bring a lot of additionally unsavory information to light. So, from my not-a-lawyer point of view, they'd be best off settling and insisting on confidential terms of settlement. People will know they settled, but the only thing that will "tell" us is that the initial police report is true, which we already ~know. They won't be giving anything else away. (And I know that sometimes people settle cases even when they're not guilty!) And then they can (try to) spin the situation to say that they settled in order to move forward as a family.

Would there be any advantages in refusing to settle? Aside from the obvious financial perspective?

... I did mention that I'm not a lawyer, right? ;)

I'm not an attorney/barrister and/or solicitor either. And if I was, tort law in Australia is significantly different to America. American lawyers, or those with access to them, we need your help!

Being deposed sounds like torture to me.

[Fuzzysox]

I'm not a lawyer either. This seems right to me, though. I would love to have a window into JB's arrogant, stupid, ignorant brain as he struggles to figure out how he can make this go away without losing his very favorite thing -- money.

Maybe MEchelle is giving her famous bankruptcy lecture to Boob as I type.

Edited July 1, 2015 by Fuzzysox

[PinkSprinkles]

I guess Jessa was lying when she said all the other victims were fine with it, and totally over everything that happened.

 

I really don't know why people are assuming the victim is a fundie. People DO get out, or get tossed out. She's likely an adult now, and unlike the Duggar kids, actually acting like one.

 

This brought to mind that scene from the second-to-last episode of Breaking Bad when Walt is watching the Gretchen and Elliot interview where they downplay his involvement with their company and he gets royally ticked. In this context, I could see the victim hearing that statement from Jessa and then deciding to "settle the score" as it were. 

 

Whatever does happen, I hope the victim finds peace. 

[JoanArc]

 

Maybe MEchelle is giving her famous bankruptsy lecture to Boob as I type.

Now, Jim Bob, that doesn't mean going to a bank...

 

This brought to mind that scene from the second-to-last episode of Breaking Bad when Walt is watching the Gretchen and Elliot interview where they downplay his involvement with their company and he gets royally ticked.

Heh, that works well. The way Jessa was so flip about it told me she was lying, but I think this serves as confirmation.

 

Another question - not a lawyer - but aren't most of the Duggar's funds in their trust/airline/ministry/etc. Maybe on paper JB&M only have a few thousand dollars. If Jim Bob and Michelle are personally poor as church mice, at least on paper, doesn't that limit what the victim can sure for?

 

I hope the victim gets the plane and buzzes the TTH every day.

Edited July 1, 2015 by JoanArc

[kokapetl]

Now, Jim Bob, that doesn't mean going to a bank...

Heh, that works well. The way Jessa was so flip about it told me she was lying, but I think this serves as confirmation.

 

Another question - not a lawyer - but aren't most of the Duggar's funds in their trust/airline/ministry/etc. Maybe on paper JB&M only have a few thousand dollars. If Jim Bob and Michelle are personally poor as church mice, at least on paper, doesn't that limit what the victim can sure for?

 

I hope the victim gets the plane and buzzes the TTH every day.

It's some sort of trust, I hope the 18 non molestor/facilitator family members (including the four sister victims) aren't going to be harmed by any potential civil action. They are a third parties to any of Josh's crimes, or victims themselves, and with no education or skills, they will really, really need that money. But if what I've read in the last 5 minutes online is true, revocable trusts are like preemptive wills, and if JimChelle have the ability to revoke the trust and access the funds, they can be up for grabs.

[merylinkid]

Only about 2% of cases actually go to trial.   Which is a good thing.   We really don't have the court capacity to hear everything.   But you can bet that this one won't settle until after the discovery phase.   No one in their rights minds would miss the chance to depose these yahoos under oath.   Especially if the person is a former fundie.   Heck we don't even know if she was fundie to begin with.   This family accepts free help from anyone regardless of belief.   

[Darknight]

Josh is trending on Facebook.

[kokapetl]

Only about 2% of cases actually go to trial.   Which is a good thing.   We really don't have the court capacity to hear everything.   But you can bet that this one won't settle until after the discovery phase.   No one in their rights minds would miss the chance to depose these yahoos under oath.   Especially if the person is a former fundie.   Heck we don't even know if she was fundie to begin with.   This family accepts free help from anyone regardless of belief.

The redactions implied there were further consequences within the fundie community from what Josh did to the babysitter, so she probably wasn't an outsider. And assuming the Duggars hire a competent lawyer, the babysitter would be deposed herself. Duggar's dirty laundry is already half exposed, things are already half blown up in their faces, the babysitter may have relatively more to lose in her deposition. And if the Duggars coordinate their version of events and lie their asses off in their depositions, she's not likely to be able to prove anything more than what the Duggars admitted in 2006.

[Churchhoney]

 And if the Duggars coordinate their version of events and lie their asses off in their depositions, she's not likely to be able to prove anything more than what the Duggars admitted in 2006.

 

Isn't it nice to know that they're such devout Christians and hold to such a strict standard of morality that they would never do anything like this?

 

Can't ever get past the idea that lying, control-freak grifter Jim Bob holds himself up as a moral role model.

[kokapetl]

Isn't it nice to know that they're such devout Christians and hold to such a strict standard of morality that they would never do anything like this?

Can't ever get past the idea that lying, control-freak grifter Jim Bob holds himself up as a moral role model.

Their lies so far are mostly lies by omission. Should they feel Fort Duggar, not just their TLC show, is under attack, I wouldn't put it past them to create a corroborating narrative containing outright lies. The lone, fifth, non family victim would likely find it hard to counter that.

[Churchhoney]

Their lies so far are mostly lies by omission. Should they feel Fort Duggar, not just their TLC show, is under attack, I wouldn't put it past them to create a corroborating narrative containing outright lies. The lone, fifth, non family victim would likely find it hard to counter that.

 

No. I wouldn't put it past them either.

 

They'd consider it lying for God. He's on the money, after all.

[FakeJoshDuggar]

I'm trying to find out elsewhere, but if anyone here can answer, I'd be delighted.

JB and Michelle have been steadily moving all assets to LLCs for years. There's a property LLC, and aeronautical LLC, and businesses out the wazoo. One of those businesses were formed with Jim Bob, Michelle, and Josh right before the Fox interview aired. So given that all of their assets are in shell companies, how would the victim go about getting a judgement when none of the Duggars actually own anything outright?

[kokapetl]

I'm trying to find out elsewhere, but if anyone here can answer, I'd be delighted.

JB and Michelle have been steadily moving all assets to LLCs for years. There's a property LLC, and aeronautical LLC, and businesses out the wazoo. One of those businesses were formed with Jim Bob, Michelle, and Josh right before the Fox interview aired. So given that all of their assets are in shell companies, how would the victim go about getting a judgement when none of the Duggars actually own anything outright?

The Duggars probably suck at it. Edited July 1, 2015 by Kokapetl

[FakeJoshDuggar]

Isn't it nice to know that they're such devout Christians and hold to such a strict standard of morality that they would never do anything like this?

Can't ever get past the idea that lying, control-freak grifter Jim Bob holds himself up as a moral role model.

It's a civil case, not criminal. The burden of proof is so.much lower in civil cases. He's already admitted to the molestation as have his parents. They've admitted on FOX News and in the DHS report that there was under clothes touching, so I don't think that her burden of proof will be all that difficult to obtain.

[MrHufflepuff]

I'm trying to find out elsewhere, but if anyone here can answer, I'd be delighted.

JB and Michelle have been steadily moving all assets to LLCs for years. There's a property LLC, and aeronautical LLC, and businesses out the wazoo. One of those businesses were formed with Jim Bob, Michelle, and Josh right before the Fox interview aired. So given that all of their assets are in shell companies, how would the victim go about getting a judgement when none of the Duggars actually own anything outright?

 

LLCs have what are usually called "membership interests," which are a similar concept to stock in a corporation.  And like corporate stock, a membership interest is simply another asset that someone owns, and can usually be reached by a creditor (including someone who wins a judgment in litigation).

 

There are ways to structure your assets so you technically don't own them, thereby making the assets safe from creditors.  But, I don't want to go into details about that, because it's complicated and doesn't always work.  But simply putting stuff in an LLC doesn't make your assets safe from creditors.  You have to do additional stuff.  If the Duggars had halfway competent advice, then they've probably done this kind of stuff already.

Edited July 1, 2015 by MrHufflepuff

[Missy Vixen]

Their lies so far are mostly lies by omission. Should they feel Fort Duggar, not just their TLC show, is under attack, I wouldn't put it past them to create a corroborating narrative containing outright lies.

They'll have to testify under oath. There are penalties when one lies under oath. Significant ones.

 

I look for lots and lots of lawyer shopping before Jim Boob finds anyone willing to take the case.

[Sew Sumi]

Given In Touch's history with accurate reporting on this story, I'm giving them a lot of credence here. The fifth victim may have been (disclaimer: complete speculation) contacted and harassed into signing some sort of declaration nailing her into a narrative that better fits the Duggar's story.

Also, because I'm incredibly lazy, when did the original scandal break? Kate Gosselin's boyfriend/bodyguard was soliciting off duty police officers around May 20th. I'm guessing that the Duggars has some sort of heads up that the story was going to break.

The first InTouch article that mentioned Josh, but did not have the documents was on Tuesday, May 19. The BIG article hit on the 21st. So, the Duggars at least had one day. The documents were released to InTouch later in the day of the 19th (their article hit first thing in the morning). 

 

eta: The "Digging In" episode was filmed on 5/4. They commented that Izzy was four weeks old that day. I don't think they had two weeks' lead time to get their ducks in a row. We know that they were informed of InTouch's request of the documents, but that shouldn't have taken two weeks to get into InTouch's possession. The redactions were not that time-consuming; they could have been completed in a couple of hours. That said, I imagine the Duggars had maybe a day or maybe even the weekend beforehand to contact TLC and get in touch with Khate's bodyguard. 

Edited July 1, 2015 by Sew Sumi

[Sew Sumi]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think at least one church elder was/is a local politician. Should be interesting to hear the facts come out on this. The cover up by the adults is just as bad, if not worse, than the molestation itself.

You have a 14/15 year old kid that knew better, but didn't have a healthy outlet for his biological curiosities. And who subsequently, imo, never received proper counseling and behavioral rehabilitation.

The biggest crime is that the adults didn't go far enough to protect or seek proper help for the innocent. I'm glad this grown victim is seeking justice and compensation for this. I don't care what her motive is -- she was victimized by many in this terrible crime and deserves anything she can get from it.

Yes he is. And as a chaplain at a place that dealt with minor offenders of Josh's sort, he was a mandated reporter.  So this man failed on two fronts. His name is Jim Holt. FJ actually put together a very good timeline of Holt's involvement with this. I don't credit them for much, but they had all the details right regarding this guy.

[Ljohnson1987]

http://radaronline.com/celebrity-news/michelle-duggar-medical-bills-debt/

 

Debt free my ass! J'Chelle lies again.

[SoSueMe]

Their lies so far are mostly lies by omission. Should they feel Fort Duggar, not just their TLC show, is under attack, I wouldn't put it past them to create a corroborating narrative containing outright lies. The lone, fifth, non family victim would likely find it hard to counter that.

Can she opt for a jury? I don't know how lawsuits work but if a jury was in the mix it might go against the Duggars. I mean maybe not EVERYONE in AR loves them?

Edited July 1, 2015 by SoSueMe

[GEML]

This is why Josh had a short, lawyer written resignation and hasn't been heard of since. And why Jim Bob is a stupid idiot with the political instincts of a baboon for agreeing to interviews. Depositions or no depositions, every bit of those interviews is fair game.

I'm betting she is no longer Fundy but she still has family that is and at first was planning to spare THEM. But it was the interviews that likely pushed the issue to a head. It may not, ironically, even be about Josh himself at this point, but hearing four other people telling her that what happened to her really didn't matter and she's "over it."

[SoSueMe]

I wonder if this new development will show up on cable news. Nancy Grace or Megyn Kelly? So much else going on, it may only be a internet story...

[Churchhoney]

I wonder if this new development will show up on cable news. Nancy Grace or Megyn Kelly? So much else going on, it may only be a internet story...

 

Hard to tell, but it's doing pretty well on the Internet so far, and it's only hours old. The New York Daily News, Page Six and Salon, among others, are carrying it. Spreading online doesn't necessarily mean it'll spread in other media, of course, but being on those sites suggests that it has fairly wide interest. Again, you're still looking at so many different angles to this whole story -- the political, the religious, the tv-business angles and more -- that substantial developments have a pretty highly likelihood of gaining legs, it seems to me. Of course, since this event isn't likely to play out quickly or in the open, maybe it won't have time to really catch fire.

[NextIteration]

@ marleyfan All the hugs for you.

 

I hope the unidentified victim nails the Duggars!  For so many of us victims that were unable to.

[ChocolateAddict]

I'm now wondering how the leg humpers will react to this news.  The overwhelming theme on their FB page when the news broke was "It was just a mistake!!!!!! God forgives!!!!!!!!! This is just the pursecution by the libiral media!!!!" (spelling mistakes because there was at least one in every post).  Now are they going to blame the victim for wanting damages?  Argue that since God forgave Josh, the 5th victim should too?  That would be a new low but I could see the leg-humpers doing it.  

Jessa and Jill can speak for themselves, they can speak for the other two sisters but they shouldn't have spoken for the non-family member.  It doesn't sound like they had the permission of the 5th victim to claim that all of them were completely fine and undamaged and that their lives are full of rainbows, sunshine and happiness.  

It has been said before but the whole handling of this incident has been one f*ck-up after another. I hope that Boob doesn't try to micro-manage the court case the same way that he has the publicity side of this.  If he does, he can all but kiss those millions goodbye.  

Edited July 2, 2015 by ChocolateAddict

[Mindymoo]

I'm now wondering how the leg humpers will react to this news.  The overwhelming theme on their FB page when the news broke was "It was just a mistake!!!!!! God forgives!!!!!!!!! This is just the pursecution by the libiral media!!!!" (spelling mistakes because there was at least one in every post).  Now are they going to blame the victim for wanting damages?  Argue that since God forgave Josh, the 5th victim should too?  That would be a new low but I could see the leg-humpers doing it.  

I don't follow them on social media, but comments on the news stories on Facebook have people chastising the fifth victim for coming forward and saying that this is just a cash grab, and that what he did to her wasn't all that bad. It makes me sick.

[Vermicious Knid]

Companies are falling all over themselves to cut ties with Trump over his derogatory comments, but TLC still won't say if a show featuring an admitted child molester (and his lying family) has been cancelled.

[ginger90]

If the 5th victim (I honesty don't know how else to refer to her) is only suing Josh, then Jim Bob won't have to pay. Or is she suing the family?

[Flowers]

We could call her V5, for brevity?

[dillpickles]

If the 5th victim (I honesty don't know how else to refer to her) is only suing Josh, then Jim Bob won't have to pay. Or is she suing the family?

Well josh was a minor when this happened so i think she'd be suing JB and M.

(No where near a lawyer)

[NEGirl]

Josh was a juvenile at the time of the offense.  JB and M'Chelle were the parents who covered up the crime. They are the ones who will probably be sued. Please note-I am not an attorney.

[bluebonnet]

I wonder if the police department could also be on the hook since one of their own was involved in the cover-up.  

[FakeJoshDuggar]

LLCs have what are usually called "membership interests," which are a similar concept to stock in a corporation. And like corporate stock, a membership interest is simply another asset that someone owns, and can usually be reached by a creditor (including someone who wins a judgment in litigation).

There are ways to structure your assets so you technically don't own them, thereby making the assets safe from creditors. But, I don't want to go into details about that, because it's complicated and doesn't always work. But simply putting stuff in an LLC doesn't make your assets safe from creditors. You have to do additional stuff. If the Duggars had halfway competent advice, then they've probably done this kind of stuff already.

Thank you and I love the name. Hufflepuff House is thoroughly underrated.

[Pixie Chicken]

Watching how quickly NBC dropped Trump, and moved to distance themselves from his speech, it's amazing that as more and more bad news comes out about the Duggars and their ACTIONS, they still haven't been canceled. When everyone is so sensitive to avoid even the semblance of impropriety or offensiveness, the fact that these people have admitted to some terrible things and still remain tied to TLC is pretty remarkable.

[msblossom]

This is why Josh had a short, lawyer written resignation and hasn't been heard of since. And why Jim Bob is a stupid idiot with the political instincts of a baboon for agreeing to interviews. Depositions or no depositions, every bit of those interviews is fair game.

I'm betting she is no longer Fundy but she still has family that is and at first was planning to spare THEM. But it was the interviews that likely pushed the issue to a head. It may not, ironically, even be about Josh himself at this point, but hearing four other people telling her that what happened to her really didn't matter and she's "over it."

I believe you are right about this, GEML!

I knew those interviews were going to do more harm than good. It didn't matter that Megan Kelly skewed the interviews in their favor or came across sympathetic and made the the police department out to be the villain instead of Josh, bc that actually worked against the Duggars. They were made to feel more comfortable, and they essentially hung themselves when they defended Josh and minimized the molestatations and lumped the 5th victim in with the Duggar girls.

[Anne Elk]

The InTouch story sounds very iffy to me. "Anonymous sources" could be anybody, and the rest of it is just speculation. I think it's probably BS.

 

The Duggars and their PR people might even have floated this rumor themselves to get sympathy. By now that their support is reduced to the true believers, but since TLC hasn't canceled them, it's clear they think the true believers are enough to keep the show going. Trashing the victims' reputations is a very successful PR strategy, and since they can't trash their own daughters, they'd have to go after the anonymous babysitter by making her look greedy and opportunistic. And as the Facebook comments indicate, so far it's working.

Edited July 2, 2015 by Anne Elk

[Missy Vixen]

Companies are falling all over themselves to cut ties with Trump over his derogatory comments, but TLC still won't say if a show featuring an admitted child molester (and his lying family) has been cancelled.

(Clears throat). The reason why companies are racing to cut ties with Trump is because there are now more Hispanic/Latino people in the United States than there are Caucasians. Money talks. His comments were disgusting. And Trump is getting his well-deserved comeuppance, especially since he doubled down on his comments instead of doing the right thing and apologizing.

 

TLC is convinced that they can salvage this show. The money involved must be very, VERY important to them; I can't imagine how they are going to keep any sponsors whatsoever when 19KAC is back on the air. I must ask one more time -- does Jim Boob have naked pictures of Discovery Channel's CEO or something? ANYONE ELSE would have cut ties with these people immediately.

 

I never thought I would live to see the day when a TV network would actually fight to retain an admitted child molester (and the parents who covered up for him) on their schedule, either. I thought it was the third rail. I'm evidently wrong.

The InTouch story sounds very iffy to me. "Anonymous sources" could be anybody, and the rest of it is just speculation. I think it's probably BS.

 

The Duggars and their PR people might even have floated this rumor themselves to get sympathy. By now that their support is reduced to the true believers, but since TLC hasn't canceled them, it's clear they think the true believers are enough to keep the show going. Trashing the victims' reputations is a very successful PR strategy, and since they can't trash their own daughters, they'd have to go after the anonymous babysitter by making her look greedy and opportunistic. And as the Facebook comments indicate, so far it's working.

InTouch has air-tight sourced each story. What's more, the lawyers working for the publishers have most likely been over the stories with a fine-tooth comb. They're not giving Jim Boob any chance at all to claim their facts aren't accurate. And I don't think this is the biggest story yet. I think they're sitting on something even bigger.

 

Trashing the victim in this case will not only take the Duggars down once and for all, it will most likely take down the executive who still has not cancelled the show, among many others. Trashing the victim in any circumstance will make them more radioactive than they already are.

 

If they don't settle, they're insane, but luckily for us, Jim Boob isn't especially smart. Good thoughts to the survivor who wants justice and here's to her lawyer. I hope he or she is a meat-eater and manages to depose all involved.

Edited July 2, 2015 by Missy Vixen

[bluebonnet]

(Clears throat). The reason why companies are racing to cut ties with Trump is because there are now more Hispanic/Latino people in the United States than there are Caucasians. 

Not even close.  Though, yes, a huge population of consumers is angry and rightfully so and they are speaking loudly.  I'm guessing on TLC's end, there is a sizeable population of disgusting individuals who thinks sexual abuse and covering it up is perfectly ok and they must be speaking with their outdoor voices because there is no other conceivable reason this show should still be in limbo.  The corruption and rampant molestation going on in these cults (as the Duggars claimed in their interview) should have been more than enough to remove all things Duggar from TLC, even a show about the young married women.  

[Pixie Chicken]

Companies are falling all over themselves to cut ties with Trump over his derogatory comments, but TLC still won't say if a show featuring an admitted child molester (and his lying family) has been cancelled.

Except that he didn't actually admit to anything. It was a "mistake." TLC is playing along with that nonsense for some reason.

[lovesnark]

With Boob being so arrogant and, well, just plain dumb, I can totally see him refusing any attempt by a lawyer to get him to settle. He's SO full of himself and SO positive he's right about everything, I think it's plausible that he'd tell a lawyer that no one (especially a woman) is going to get all the money he's earned by being such a fine christian man.

 

I'm positive he was repeatedly advised to not go on FOX news but, being such a pompous ass, he was sure he the world would see that he handled the situation in the perfect way and agree that it was really no big deal. His hubris will bite him in the ass in the biggest way possible.

[Anne Elk]

The fundie-evangelical market is big (25% of the US population), wealthy, and politically powerful. The advertisers claimed to be pulling out after the scandal broke, but they haven't stopped buying time on TLC, and since 19KAC is not airing they don't have to worry about their ads showing up on that show and generating angry letters and boycotts. So essentially, TLC hasn't lost anything so far. They are obviously hoping that the fans will just forget about all this as long as Josh isn't on the show any more. It's all about the $$$.

 

It seems impossible to me that trashing the victim, especially if it's done through "anonymous sources" so nothing can be traced, would manage to bring the Duggars down when actually covering up their son's molesting children didn't do it. But based on how the rest of this story has played out, we seem to be in Bizarro World anyway, so who knows.

[jcbrown]

 

Jim Bob is a stupid idiot with the political instincts of a baboon for agreeing to interviews. Depositions or no depositions, every bit of those interviews is fair game.

I think this is insulting to baboons. I agree with the sentiment, however.

Edited July 2, 2015 by jcbrown

[NikSac]

Jessa and Jill can speak for themselves, they can speak for the other two sisters but they shouldn't have spoken for the non-family member.  It doesn't sound like they had the permission of the 5th victim to claim that all of them were completely fine and undamaged and that their lives are full of rainbows, sunshine and happiness.  

 

I actually don't even think that Jessa should have spoken for the other two sisters. Jill didn't seem to want to either. She said she didn't want to speak for anyone else if I remember right, but then Jessa quickly piped up with how she would speak for herself and everyone else too. If the other sisters said "yes, please tell the audience ____" then fine, but it was pretty clear to me that they didn't.

Edited July 2, 2015 by NikSac

[What In The]

I would love to know if the info from radar online about the debt is true. If so then that's another blow to the facade that is 19K&C.

I seem a bit confused Mullet, but I got you pegged!

[ChocolateAddict]

I actually don't even think that Jessa should have spoken for the other two sisters. Jill didn't seem to want to either. She said she didn't want to speak for anyone else if I remember right, but then Jessa quickly piped up with how she would speak for herself and everyone else too. If the other sisters said "yes, please tell the audience ____" then fine, but it was pretty clear to me that they didn't.

 

I wasn't comfortable with Jessa and Jill speaking on behalf of the other sisters either but I was more uncomfortable about them speaking for someone who wasn't related to the family.  In my mind, the party line was always going to be "we are fantastically wonderful and look at our happy lives" and if Boob and Mechelle want to push that line about their daughters, fine.  We all knew that the Duggars would be saying that everyone was undamaged and even though I call BS, they can say that about the family victims.  The Duggar daughters and parents cannot speak for the non-related child in the same way that they can for the other two. 

I completely agree Niksac that Jessa and Jill didn't seem to have explicit permission from their sisters to claim that everything is alright but as cynical as it sounds, the other two victims were never going to have a voice.  The whole handling of this has been focused on Josh so we were always going to hear the happy outcome story where the victims forgave him and everyone moved on.  Again, if the Duggars want to make that their party line for their daughters then they can but they should never have included the 5th victim in their happy ending. 

[kandinski]

The daughters were just following Daddys script,These girls have been broken,brainwashed and been told god is coming for them if they dont tow the line.

 

Its not easy when Daddy has a teenage boys personality,that never progressed past 17.

Edited July 2, 2015 by kandinski