Rush is going to let this play out, and simmer in some court. Some big-wig guy for the Democrats will eat up tens of thousands of their funding, then finally tell them that there is no way out and pay Rush’s legal costs, apologize, and donate $10k to some charity. Rush will eat up half-a-million of their legal funds in lawyer work....then take the signed copy of the apology to read off the air once or twice a month. Basically, they screwed up in a marginal way....with legal costs to eat them up.
Not necessarily. Rush is playing with some fire here, but I am sure he is aware of the risks. In a defamation case, you put your entire reputation and character at issue, and that allows the other side to take your deposition and get into all kinds of personal issues. There are limits, but they are pretty broad, and how far afield a lawyer could go in discovery would depend on the judge handling the case. For this reason, it is rare that people sue on these kind of slanders, even when they are false.