I understand that the casual gossiper probably lost the thread of this now-epic, multi-strand story of the Duchess of Sussex’s lawsuit against the Mail. That’s been the whole point of the Mail’s efforts to litigate their defense through their own paper and confuse their readership about the actual facts of the case. A casual gossiper might have read the update about Meghan’s latest filing, wherein she admits to authorizing a third party to speak to Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand as some kind of “gotcha moment.” It was not. And even more, it barely has any bearing on the actual lawsuit, which involved Thomas Markle selling/giving Meghan’s letter to the Mail and the Mail then publishing excerpts while grossly misrepresenting the actual letter.
Throughout this whole dumb ordeal, one thing has remained bizarrely constant: Meghan’s toxic father Thomas Markle has said repeatedly that he “wants his day in court,” as if he has something to prove, as if he was the one who sued his daughter or something. His actions in verbally abusing and harassing his daughter are the whole reason we’re here. And now it looks like Toxic Tom won’t even get his day in court. LMAO.
Meghan Markle will likely still have to appear in court as part of her ongoing lawsuit against Associated Newspapers, but now she almost certainly won’t have to come face-to-face with her father in the process. In a written statement made public on Wednesday, Judge Mark Warby ruled that there is no need for Thomas Markle to be called to give evidence in the case, because he is not “an important witness.”
“It was not immediately obvious to me why he was considered to be important,” Warby said. “It is not suggested that Mr Markle’s evidence … is an essential component of the defence case.” Warby said there was “no apparent impediment” to the paper’s lawyers taking a deposition or other form of independently recorded statement from Markle in advance, or to his giving evidence by video-link if not well enough to travel.
The decision will be a set-back for Associated Newspapers, who planned to call Markle as their star witness. Markle, who is in frail health, said he would fly to London to give evidence against his daughter and was apparently upset when the case was adjourned because he is worried about his ailing health and that he might not be able to travel to the UK next fall, when the court case is now due to take place.
Markle was to be a key witness for Associated Newspapers, parent company of the Mail on Sunday, who claim Markle asked them to publish extracts from a letter that Duchess Meghan wrote to him ahead of her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry. The goal, they said, was to set the record straight after some of the Duchess’s friends disclosed details about the letter in a magazine feature for People about the Duchess and her relationship with her father.
Today’s news is a triumph for Meghan, who was apparently dreading coming face to face with her estranged father who she has not seen since before her wedding. Markle has never met Prince Harry or his grandson, Archie.
“She wants a line drawn in all of this,” said a source close to the Sussexes. “It has gone on for too long and has become a case very far removed from the original legal action filed by the Duchess.” Another friend said, “Not having to come face to face with her father in court will be a relief to Meghan. Finally it seems things are going her way.”
See, I’ve been thinking this whole time that as soon as Toxic Tom got dragged into court, the Mail’s defense would fall apart. This whole idea that Thomas was perfectly within his rights to sell/give Meghan’s letter to the Mail because of the People Magazine story has always been bullsh-t. Thomas Markle had been lying for MONTHS about how Meghan had not contacted him since the wedding, conveniently omitting the fact that Meghan had sent him that letter. The second Meghan’s lawyers get Thomas under oath (or whatever it is in British courts), the Mail’s whole case disintegrates. But perhaps they can do that in a deposition. It might speed up the resolution of this clusterf–k if Thomas falls apart in a depo.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red and Backgrid.
The queen needs to intervene and make this case go away. Win or lose Meghan has gotten away from the Uk and losing will definitely not bring Harry back to the fold which the RF and racist press desperately want. Whatever the papers have on the royals will eventually come to light anyway, so someone needs to be bold enough to tel associated newspapers to piss off.
I take IMMENSE comfort in the fact that her trifiling AF Daddy lives in the SAME state as his daughter….who I know HE THINKS…he is the ONLY reason why Meghan married Prince Harry…you know…cause he…checks notes…financed her posh education…and Grifter Dad can’t have ANY contact with H&M…at all as if they lived on Mars…
Sr. lives in Mexico, not California.
I think the decision not to call TM to testify is actually in favor of Daily Fail. It’s clear that his testifying would be disaster for defendant.
I also got the impression that the judge is biased, maybe slightly or even not so slightly. His rulings clearly help Daily Fail drag this case for it’s benefit and continuation of smear campaign. Maybe the judge is getting some briefing from RF?
It’s strange that comparatively simple case got to such proportions. It also already cost Sussexes 3 millions, according to Tattler.
I feel like they know they are going to lose but they counting on that face to face to promote a dramatic father/daughter show down to sell papers.
Every move they make is to spin a false narrative and sell papers.
See, I got the opposite impression, although to be fair I know nothing about any of the legal aspects. But it seems to me if it’s as simple as Meghan owns the copyright to her letter and the Fail published it without her permission, Toxic Tom doesn’t need to testify because nothing he has to say is relevant to that. Nobody needs to testify except Meghan to confirm that she did not give her permission for the letter to be published, and once she’s done that, The End. And as far as the Fail misrepresenting the contents of the letter is concerned, that can be easily proven by looking at the original letter and the articles the paper published quoting from it, and once that’s done, The End.
‘because he is not “an important witness.”’ Oh, that has to burn bad dad. This bastard is just never going to get his big moment in the sun in the UK – that is all he’s ever wanted, which is what he was willing to sell his daughter for.
I do agree that he would have been a disaster witness for the defense, because he can’t keep his story straight or his temper in check. BUT the photos of them passing each other in a hall, or however the Mail would have set it up, would have been big bank.
The DM may have counted on his presence upsetting Meghan also so that she would be emotional and not thinking clearly. They would have really milked that. I also love that it had to burn TM to be called not important. It chafes me that he was willing to risk his “poor health” to fly over and testify against her but could not fly to attend her wedding.
You’re right. The photos! I shudder just thinking of it. With these photos and article DF would regain all the costs of this trial and possible loose. I wish this wouldn’t get to actual trial in court and Meghan wouldn’t have to fly to England for this.
I’m confused. I thought Meghan wrote the letter after the wedding, but before Archie’s birth. Either way, Thomas continues to prove he’s an ass. He wants to get up in court to demean and attack Meghan in person. No concern for Meghan at all. Just wants to further punish her for cutting off his access to her and her bank account.
Me. too! I thought the letter was written/sent a couple months after the wedding, when we were still seeing a torrent of “interviews” with Bad Dad and Worse Sis.
I think Vanity Fair may be wrong on the timeline.
MM wrote the letter to her father in August 2018 and he sent back one in Oct 2018 asking for more cash all the while trashing hi kid for months until the People article came out Feb 2019.
This idiot feeds off of attention. He’s a textbook narcissist, so this is the best thing that could happen to him. I don’t think he even understands what this case is about. He probably thinks the DM is suing Meghan to make him pay attention to her. He has cost his daughter millions in court fees, and countless hours of heartache in what should have been a happy time in her life. The tabloids are finished with him. He has nothing to offer them now— they have all her letters and baby pictures and whatever else he may have. He has no access to her current life, or to Archie. He won’t get to boss around the Queen like he wanted to with his trailer rat kids. Hell just stew in his own misery until he’s found dead. Then, a flurry of stories about bad Meghan, a private dignified burial that Meghan or Doria likely arranges, and then some whining from his trashy kids. It all could have been so so different. He had the chance to be a part of something extraordinary had he only loved his daughter more than he loved himself.
… and his bank account. Bragging to everyone at Home Depot one day that he was her father. Not “She’s my daughter,” but rather, “I’m her father.” That should tell you everything. The only thing he ever loved about her was what she could do for his bank account. Imagine getting this treatment for years in the press when you have paid the bills for his mother’s nursing home stay. And having the gall to say “I took care of my mother” when he did no such f**king thing. He shoved her in a nursing home much like she shoved his vile offspring onto his parents to abandon them and chase Hollywood. Imagine. When she said, “I have only ever loved, protected and defended you” it was heartbreaking. Look at what he’s done to her at the behest of the evil British media. Every time I see his greasy, hideous face I die a little inside. He’s a monster. He has no love in his life and it’s entirely self-inflicted.
I did chuckle reading the judge saying Thomas is not only not an important witness, but if he really is so sick then what’s stopping the Mail from getting a written statement beforehand or for him to appear in video call. And how Thomas is rightly not known the confidential reason.
I also love that they wouldn’t tell him why the trial was delayed. They knew he would spill the confidential reason why it was delayed. That must have burned him as well.
I’m thinking it’s because Meghan is pregnant and this will be another grandchild that he’ll never meet and thus profit from like the greedy SOB has been doing for years. It’d be merciful for all involved if he just passed in his sleep.
I always thought she should feed him wrong info that he could sell, then they could announce, “No, actually, this is what’s going on.”
The Fail is relieved. They wanted the showdown between Meghan and dad but his being on the stand would ruin their case. The judge basically called Thomas a loser. He’s a loose cannon now; he’ll go to an American outlet now and spill tea.
Good! Perhaps this means we won’t have to look at him any more. “His day in court” and “his day” at the wedding… tried to make it all about himself, and pissed it all away. He went low, and Meghan went high, and both are remaining in their respective positions. He can’t accept it’s over, and neither can the BRF.
PS: Don’t give Murdoch outlets money. He’s nearly as vile as TM. I love how they refer to him as “Markle” and her as “Meghan” in order to make the whole thing confusing to read, and to subtly smear her.
Being deemed not important to the case would hurt his ego but it’s what he deserves.