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The attacks on the rule of law have begun.

Moments after news broke on Thursday that disgraced former President Donald Trump had been indicted on federal charges, Fox News and the rest of the MAGA Media universe revved up into attack mode, denigrating the U.S. justice system and characterizing it as prejudiced against conservatives.

The assault on the American justice system was swift and savage. On Fox, the historic legal action was portrayed as President Joe Biden weaponizing the Justice Department to target his political opponent. "BIDEN ADMIN INDICTS A PRESIDENTIAL RIVAL," one on-screen banner read.

"Yes, it is a dark day in America," Sean Hannity declared. "We have said it often. There is no equal justice, there is no equal application of our laws. There is one set of rules for Democrats and another set of rules for Donald Trump and conservatives and anybody especially in his orbit." 

Despite the indictment not being made public, Hannity went on to tell his audience that the "system of justice" in the U.S. has "been weaponized beyond belief" and that the country is "in serious trouble." 

Throughout the night, Fox welcomed guests who echoed the Trump talking points and disparaged the justice system. In effect, Fox News is once again platforming those who are leading vicious and irresponsible attacks on the country's criminal justice system.

The defense of Trump, of course, was not just limited to Fox News. Across the right-wing media ecosystem, the narrative that a sinister deep-state was unfairly targeting Trump to knock him out of the 2024 presidential contest was pervasive.

"PEAK WITCH HUNT," the homepage banner on the right-wing Breitbart blared, adding "POLITICAL PERSECUTION INTENSIFIES." Elsewhere, on the far-right Gateway Pundit blog, more than a half-dozen stories were published Thursday night defending Trump.

The coverage harkened back to the years after the 2016 election, when Trump aimed to discredit and destroy institutions such as the FBI for investigating him. News organizations covered the story by delivering fact-based reporting and analysis, while propaganda outfits such as Fox News disseminated hyperbolic commentary to their audiences.

Thursday night's coverage did serve as a good reminder that outlets like Fox News can quickly fall under Trump's hypnosis and snap into MAGA mouthpiece mode. While Rupert Murdoch might personally hold great contempt for Trump, documents revealed as part of the Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit showed that he is terrified that airing critical coverage of Trump will result in his supporters abandoning the channel. 

And at the end of the day, that is what motivates such outlets. Their business models are not designed to provide fact-based news to audiences. And that means giving voice to dangerous, dishonest commentary — despite knowing, after the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the real-world violence that it has the potential to incite.

———  BELOW THE FOLD  ———

First in Reliable | Raj Shah, a key Fox Corporation executive whose messages were exposed in  Dominion Voting Systems' defamation lawsuit, has left the company. "Raj brought talent and creativity to his role at Fox," Fox spokesperson Brian Nick confirmed to me on Thursday. "We appreciate his service and wish him the best on his next endeavor." Shah, who had previously served in Trump's administration as a senior communications official, left the company in May. The reason for Shah's departure was not known and he could not be immediately reached for comment. But documents brought to light by Dominion's lawsuit revealed that Shah pushed Fox News in a pro-Trump direction after the 2020 election. Most famously, perhaps, he branded Fox News host Neil Cavuto's decision to cut away from a lie-filled Kayleigh McEnany press conference as a "brand threat." 

Consoling CNNers: One day after the dismissal of embattled network chief Chris Licht, the interim leadership team at CNN on Thursday moved to calm staffers, writing in a memo that they recognize it has not been easy to work "during a time of significant change" at the network. "We understand how disorienting and unsettling it can be when we become the news and these recent changes can be difficult to navigate, both personally and professionally," the group of executives wrote. "So, we want to take a moment to thank you for the talent and dedication you have continued to bring to work every day." The interim leadership team — Amy Entelis, Virginia Moseley, Eric Sherling, and David Leavy — said that they are "humbled by the task" before them and "committed to making this period as smooth as possible." Deadline's Ted Johnson has more. 

Nightly's Night: NBC News on Thursday evening celebrated the 75th anniversary of "NBC Nightly News," with a party hosted by anchor Lester Holt and NBCU News Group boss Cesar Conde at the Peacock Lounge at 30 Rock. Holt said that the show is a "labor of love" and that the "North Star of this broadcast" is to honor the "tradition of integrity and excellence." Conde added that the program "sets a standard for everyone in the news industry" and had allowed NBC over the years to "launch all of these new brands and networks like CNBC, like MSNBC, like NBC News Now, and all of the different shows and all the different platforms with which we distribute our journalistic content today."

👀 The celebration was attended by about 150 people, including Brian Roberts, Mike Cavanagh, Steven Spielberg, John Leguizamo, Hoda Kotb, Jen Psaki, Jose Diaz-Balart, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Kristen Welker, and Amb. Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

What is 'Woke'?: Over on Fox News, pretty much everything can be characterized as "woke" these days — outside the cable channel itself. The progressive watchdog Media Matters on Thursday published a report that documented more than 200 things that Fox News has slapped a "woke" label on. "Few entities have escaped the network's demonization, from the military to M&M’s, New York prep schools to NASCAR, social media to mall Santas," MMFA accurately noted. Check out the report here. 

Meta and the Machines: Get ready to see A.I. integrated into Meta's products. Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday told employees in an all-hands meeting that generative A.I. will be used to create text, images, and videos on Facebook and Instagram, Axios' Ina Fried reported. Zuckerberg, per Fried, said he wanted to build the technology "into every single one" of the company's products. Fried has more here. 

🔎 Zooming in: As Fried noted, Meta "has been at the forefront of generative AI research, but has been somewhat slow to put those technologies into its products." Meanwhile, the company's competitors in Silicon Valley have moved fast to do so, setting the stage for an A.I. arms race that could redefine the future of Big Tech.

Indiana Jones' Destiny: The box office will get a boost around the Fourth of July holiday. "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" is tracking to open between $60 million and $70 million over the weekend of June 30. The film, starring the one and only Harrison Ford, is the fifth and final in the iconic series. THR's Pamela McClintock has more here.

Thank you for reading! This newsletter was edited by Jon Passantino and produced with the assistance of Liam Reilly. Have feedback? Send us an email here. We will see you back in your inbox next week.