Dominion settles $1.6 B defamation lawsuit against FOX, UPDATE- SMARTMATIC $2.7 BILLION SUIT MOVES FORWARD
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This guy.... this you Soulquanna?
FYI it's annoying as hell to have to scroll past this every other post/thread on a cell phone. Can yall insult each other without so many gifts? TY.
As usual.... you wait till I clap back after that fool comes into my thread and starts throwing rocks in his efforts to derail it.... I would really appreciate it if you addressed the shit when it starts.... not when I swing back.... would you you smack your kid for fighting back, or nip shit in the bud with the one that started the fight?
Thanx in advance.... kitchen wench..... we still cool tho ... smooches...
sidebar: maybe you could find the clip from The Beat that just aired with Jason Johnson hosting and interviewing ex prosecutor Joy Vance.... you got ways of finding clips... I been searching for it, but can't find it
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As usual.... you wait till I clap back after that fool comes into my thread and starts throwing rocks in his efforts to derail it.... I would really appreciate it if you addressed the shit when it starts.... not when I swing back.... would you you smack your kid for fighting back, or nip shit in the bud with the one that started the fight?
Thanx in advance.... kitchen wench..... we still cool tho ... smooches...
sidebar: maybe you could find the clip from The Beat that just aired with Jason Johnson hosting and interviewing ex prosecutor Joy Vance.... you got ways of finding clips... I been searching for it, but can't find it
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I thought I quoted both of you, but he had one gif, you had multiple, so my feedback wouldn't really apply to him.
BS.... there wouldn't have been any gifs from me if he hadn't posted any.... in my thread....things was all good till he did that.... all you do is entertain and encourage that faggot as she gets her rocks off laughing at your reply... you gave her exactly what she wants
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they were sued, that might be why they dropped the fair and balanced motto.
court said no reasonable person believes Tucker Carlson.
Now comes the claim that you can't expect to literally believe the words that come out of Carlson's mouth. And that assertion is not coming from Carlson's critics. It's being made by a federal judge in the Southern District of New York and by Fox News's own lawyers in defending Carlson against accusations of slander. It worked, by the way.
Just read U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil's opinion, leaning heavily on the arguments of Fox's lawyers: The "'general tenor' of the show should then inform a viewer that [Carlson] is not 'stating actual facts' about the topics he discusses and is instead engaging in 'exaggeration' and 'non-literal commentary.' "
She wrote: "Fox persuasively argues, that given Mr. Carlson's reputation, any reasonable viewer 'arrive
Fox News won a court case by 'persuasively' arguing that no 'reasonable viewer' takes Tucker Carlson seriously
Tucker Carlson has a long history of making racist and controversial statements as a primetime host on Fox News.
www.businessinsider.com
This old cac ate some vegemite sammiches and threw everyone under the bus..."NOT FOX, NO....NOT FOX....but maybe. Dobbs. Pirro, Bartiromo and Hannity a little bit."
Rupert Murdoch says some Fox News anchors ‘endorsed’ false election fraud claims in Dominion case
Members of Rise and Resist participate in their weekly “Truth Tuesday” protest at News Corp headquarters on February 21, 2023 in New York City.
KEY POINTS
In new filings as part of Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox and its networks, Murdoch said he doubted the election fraud claims being aired on Fox News and Fox Business Network.
Murdoch also acknowledged that Fox’s TV hosts endorsed the false election fraud claims. In unveiled question and answers from Murdoch’s deposition, when Murdoch was asked if he was “now aware that Fox endorsed at times this false notion of a stolen election,” Murdoch responded, “Not Fox, no. Not Fox. But maybe Lou Dobbs, maybe Maria [Bartiromo] as commentators.”
“Some of our commentators were endorsing it,” Murdoch said in his responses during the deposition. “They endorsed.”
Dominion sued Fox and its right-wing cable networks, Fox News and Fox Business, arguing the networks and its personalities made false claims that its voting machines rigged the results of the 2020 election. Fox News has consistently denied that it knowingly made false claims about the election, and has said “the core of this case remains about freedom of the press and freedom of speech.”
In earlier court papers, Fox said that the past year of discovery has shown the company played “no role in the creation and publication of the challenged statements -- all of which aired on either Fox Business Network or Fox News Channel.”
Murdoch and his son, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch, as well as Fox’s chief legal and policy officer Viet Dinh, were questioned in connection with the lawsuit in recent months. Earlier in February court papers were released that showed snippets of the evidence Dominion gathered through the months-long process of discovery and depositions, which also included Fox TV personalities.
Text messages and testimony have shown Fox executives and Fox’s TV anchors were skeptical about claims that the election between Joe Biden, a Democrat, and Trump, a Republican, was rigged.
Dominion said in court papers filed Monday that Fox’s defense that the statements made were opinion “goes nowhere.”
“Even if some of Fox’s hosts’ statements could qualify as ‘opinions,’ they are still actionable if—as here—they are based on false or undisclosed facts,” Dominion said.
A representative for Fox News reiterated in a statement on Monday that Dominion mischaracterized the facts by cherry-picking soundbites: “When Dominion is not mischaracterizing the law, it is mischaracterizing the facts.”
Fox has also targeted Dominion’s private-equity owner in court papers regarding Dominion’s request for $1.6 billion in damages, saying the firm “paid a small fraction of that amount” to buy Dominion. Fox has also said in court papers the $1.6 billion figure has no connection to Dominion’s financial value.
“Dominion’s lawsuit has always been more about what will generate headlines than what can withstand legal and factual scrutiny, as illustrated by them now being forced to slash their fanciful damages demand by more than half a billion dollars after their own expert debunked its implausible claims,” said a Fox spokesperson in a statement Monday. “Their summary judgment motion took an extreme, unsupported view of defamation law that would prevent journalists from basic reporting and their efforts to publicly smear FOX for covering and commenting on allegations by a sitting President of the United States should be recognized for what it is: a blatant violation of the First Amendment.”
A Dominion spokesperson said Monday, “The damages claim remains. As Fox well knows, our damages exceed $1.6 billion.”
Dominion brought its lawsuit not only against the TV networks, but parent company Fox Corp., arguing the parent company and its top executives played a role in the spread of misinformation about voter fraud by Fox’s personalities. A Delaware judge had ruled Dominion’s case could be expanded beyond the networks to include Fox Corp.
Monday’s court filings show Murdoch and other Fox executives remained closed to Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott during the election coverage.
“I’m a journalist at heart. I like to be involved in these things,” Murdoch said during his deposition testimony, according to court papers.
Earlier court papers have shown top anchors including Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham expressed disbelief in Sidney Powell, a pro-Trump attorney who aggressively promoted claims of election fraud, at the time.
Paul Ryan, the former Republican speaker of the House and a Fox board member, also sat for questioning as part of the lawsuit. Court papers out Monday show Ryan said that “these conspiracy theories were baseless,” and that the network “should labor to dispel conspiracy theories if and when they pop up.”
Ryan also told both Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch “that Fox News should not be spreading conspiracy theories,” according to the filings.
Dominion alleges that Fox News anchors were feeling pressure from the audience and related to rival right-wing networks like Newsmax, fueling on-air fraud claims.
The court papers have also shown other glimpses of the network’s internal response to the events that occurred on Jan. 6, 2021, the day a violent mob breached the U.S. Capitol in support of then-President Donald Trump.
Fox executives shut down Trump’s attempt to appear on the network’s air that evening, after he dialed into on-air personality Lou Dobbs’ show in the afternoon, court filings show.
That same evening, Carlson texted his producer calling Trump “a demonic force. A destroyer. But he’s not going to destroy us,” referring to Fox’s network and its audience, court papers show.
Meanwhile, the night before Jan. 6, court papers showed, Murdoch told Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott, “it’s been suggested our prime time three should independently or together say something like ‘the election is over and Joe Biden won.’”
The lawsuit is being closely monitored by First Amendment watchdogs and experts. Libel lawsuits are typically focused on one falsehood, but in this case Dominion cites a lengthy list of examples of Fox TV hosts making false claims even after they were proven to be untrue. Media companies are often broadly protected by the First Amendment.
A status conference in the case is slated for next week, and the trial is set to begin in mid-April.
Rupert Murdoch: Some Fox News anchors 'endorsed' false election fraud claims (cnbc.com)
Rupert Murdoch says some Fox News anchors ‘endorsed’ false election fraud claims in Dominion case
KEY POINTS
- Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch said some anchors of the company’s TV networks parroted false fraud claims in the months following the 2020 election.
- In new filings as part of Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox and its networks, Murdoch said he doubted the claims being aired on Fox News and Fox Business Network.
- Monday’s court filings show Murdoch and other Fox executives remained closed to Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott during the election coverage.
In new filings as part of Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox and its networks, Murdoch said he doubted the election fraud claims being aired on Fox News and Fox Business Network.
Murdoch also acknowledged that Fox’s TV hosts endorsed the false election fraud claims. In unveiled question and answers from Murdoch’s deposition, when Murdoch was asked if he was “now aware that Fox endorsed at times this false notion of a stolen election,” Murdoch responded, “Not Fox, no. Not Fox. But maybe Lou Dobbs, maybe Maria [Bartiromo] as commentators.”
“Some of our commentators were endorsing it,” Murdoch said in his responses during the deposition. “They endorsed.”
Dominion sued Fox and its right-wing cable networks, Fox News and Fox Business, arguing the networks and its personalities made false claims that its voting machines rigged the results of the 2020 election. Fox News has consistently denied that it knowingly made false claims about the election, and has said “the core of this case remains about freedom of the press and freedom of speech.”
In earlier court papers, Fox said that the past year of discovery has shown the company played “no role in the creation and publication of the challenged statements -- all of which aired on either Fox Business Network or Fox News Channel.”
Murdoch and his son, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch, as well as Fox’s chief legal and policy officer Viet Dinh, were questioned in connection with the lawsuit in recent months. Earlier in February court papers were released that showed snippets of the evidence Dominion gathered through the months-long process of discovery and depositions, which also included Fox TV personalities.
Text messages and testimony have shown Fox executives and Fox’s TV anchors were skeptical about claims that the election between Joe Biden, a Democrat, and Trump, a Republican, was rigged.
Dominion said in court papers filed Monday that Fox’s defense that the statements made were opinion “goes nowhere.”
“Even if some of Fox’s hosts’ statements could qualify as ‘opinions,’ they are still actionable if—as here—they are based on false or undisclosed facts,” Dominion said.
A representative for Fox News reiterated in a statement on Monday that Dominion mischaracterized the facts by cherry-picking soundbites: “When Dominion is not mischaracterizing the law, it is mischaracterizing the facts.”
Fox has also targeted Dominion’s private-equity owner in court papers regarding Dominion’s request for $1.6 billion in damages, saying the firm “paid a small fraction of that amount” to buy Dominion. Fox has also said in court papers the $1.6 billion figure has no connection to Dominion’s financial value.
“Dominion’s lawsuit has always been more about what will generate headlines than what can withstand legal and factual scrutiny, as illustrated by them now being forced to slash their fanciful damages demand by more than half a billion dollars after their own expert debunked its implausible claims,” said a Fox spokesperson in a statement Monday. “Their summary judgment motion took an extreme, unsupported view of defamation law that would prevent journalists from basic reporting and their efforts to publicly smear FOX for covering and commenting on allegations by a sitting President of the United States should be recognized for what it is: a blatant violation of the First Amendment.”
A Dominion spokesperson said Monday, “The damages claim remains. As Fox well knows, our damages exceed $1.6 billion.”
Dominion brought its lawsuit not only against the TV networks, but parent company Fox Corp., arguing the parent company and its top executives played a role in the spread of misinformation about voter fraud by Fox’s personalities. A Delaware judge had ruled Dominion’s case could be expanded beyond the networks to include Fox Corp.
Monday’s court filings show Murdoch and other Fox executives remained closed to Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott during the election coverage.
“I’m a journalist at heart. I like to be involved in these things,” Murdoch said during his deposition testimony, according to court papers.
Earlier court papers have shown top anchors including Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham expressed disbelief in Sidney Powell, a pro-Trump attorney who aggressively promoted claims of election fraud, at the time.
Paul Ryan, the former Republican speaker of the House and a Fox board member, also sat for questioning as part of the lawsuit. Court papers out Monday show Ryan said that “these conspiracy theories were baseless,” and that the network “should labor to dispel conspiracy theories if and when they pop up.”
Ryan also told both Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch “that Fox News should not be spreading conspiracy theories,” according to the filings.
Dominion alleges that Fox News anchors were feeling pressure from the audience and related to rival right-wing networks like Newsmax, fueling on-air fraud claims.
The court papers have also shown other glimpses of the network’s internal response to the events that occurred on Jan. 6, 2021, the day a violent mob breached the U.S. Capitol in support of then-President Donald Trump.
Fox executives shut down Trump’s attempt to appear on the network’s air that evening, after he dialed into on-air personality Lou Dobbs’ show in the afternoon, court filings show.
That same evening, Carlson texted his producer calling Trump “a demonic force. A destroyer. But he’s not going to destroy us,” referring to Fox’s network and its audience, court papers show.
Meanwhile, the night before Jan. 6, court papers showed, Murdoch told Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott, “it’s been suggested our prime time three should independently or together say something like ‘the election is over and Joe Biden won.’”
The lawsuit is being closely monitored by First Amendment watchdogs and experts. Libel lawsuits are typically focused on one falsehood, but in this case Dominion cites a lengthy list of examples of Fox TV hosts making false claims even after they were proven to be untrue. Media companies are often broadly protected by the First Amendment.
A status conference in the case is slated for next week, and the trial is set to begin in mid-April.
Rupert Murdoch: Some Fox News anchors 'endorsed' false election fraud claims (cnbc.com)
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I think that a lot of mofo's here are missing a major point here.... it's not just $1.6 Billion..... it's $1.6 Billion plus punitive damages.... and in New York, there's no cap on punitive damages
Everyone's laughing at that, but it's cause FOX won't let him talk about it now.... he wanted to talk about it, and not any good shit for FOX
New recording reveals crisis after Fox’s AZ call for Biden
NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik and First Amendment lawyer Lee Levine react to new reporting in the New York Times that reveals the panic inside Fox after the network’s call for Biden in Arizona.
Inside the panic at Fox News after the 2020 election
An election worker opens the door for early voters at a polling place in Phoenix on Oct. 7, 2020. Fox News was the first to call Arizona for Joe Biden in 2020, thanks to its new multimillion-dollar election-projecting system.
WASHINGTON — A little more than a week after television networks called the 2020 presidential election for Joe Biden, top executives and anchors at Fox News held an after-action meeting to figure out how they had messed up.
Not because they had gotten the key call wrong — but because they had gotten it right. And they had gotten it right before anyone else.
Typically, it is a point of pride for a news network to be the first to project election winners. But Fox News is no typical news network, and in the days after the 2020 vote, it was besieged with angry protests not only from former President Donald Trump’s camp but from its own viewers because it had called the battleground state of Arizona for Biden. Never mind that the call was correct; Fox News executives worried that they would lose viewers to hard-right competitors such as Newsmax.
And so, on Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, Suzanne Scott, CEO of Fox News Media, and Jay Wallace, the network’s president, convened a Zoom meeting for an extraordinary discussion with an unusual goal, according to a recording of the call reviewed by The New York Times: how to keep from angering the network’s conservative audience again by calling an election for a Democrat before the competition.
Maybe, the Fox News executives mused, they should abandon the sophisticated new election-projecting system in which Fox News had invested millions of dollars and revert to the slower, less-accurate model. Or maybe they should base calls not solely on numbers but on how viewers might react. Or maybe they should delay calls, even if they were right, to keep the audience in suspense and boost viewership.
“Listen, it’s one of the sad realities: If we hadn’t called Arizona, those three or four days following Election Day, our ratings would have been bigger,” Scott said. “The mystery would have been still hanging out there.”
Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, the two main anchors, suggested it was not enough to call a state based on numerical calculations, the standard by which networks have made such determinations for generations, but that viewer reaction should be considered. “In a Trump environment,” MacCallum said, “the game is just very, very different.”
The conversation captured the sense of crisis enveloping Fox News after the election and underscored its unique role in the conservative political ecosystem. The network’s conduct in this period has come under intense scrutiny in a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems.
Court filings in recent days revealed that Fox News executives and hosts considered fraud claims by the Trump camp to be “really crazy stuff,” as Rupert Murdoch, head of the Fox media empire, put it, yet pushed them on air anyway. The recording of the Nov. 16 meeting adds further context to the atmosphere inside the network at that time, when executives were on the defensive because of their Arizona call and feared alienating Trump and his supporters.
In a statement Saturday, the network said, “Fox News stood by the Arizona call despite intense scrutiny. Given the extremely narrow 0.3% margin and a new projection mechanism that no other network had, of course there would be a wide-ranging post-mortem surrounding the call and how it was executed no matter the candidates.”
In the crosshairs now is Scott, who joined the network at its inception in 1996 as a programming assistant and worked her way up to become CEO in 2018. Media analysts have speculated that she may take the fall; Murdoch testified in a deposition that executives who knowingly allowed lies to be broadcast “should be reprimanded, maybe got rid of.” But Fox later put out word that she was not in danger.
Scott was among the executives who grew alarmed after the network’s Decision Desk called Arizona for Biden at 11:20 p.m. on election night on Nov. 3, 2020, a projection that infuriated Trump and his aides because it was a swing state that could foreshadow the overall result. No other network called Arizona that night, although The Associated Press did, several hours later, and the Fox News journalists who made the call stood by their judgment.
At 8:30 a.m. the next day, Scott suggested Fox not call any more states until certified by authorities, a formal process that could take days or weeks. She was talked out of that. But the next day, with Biden’s lead in Arizona narrowing, Baier noted that Trump’s campaign was angry and suggested reversing the call. “It’s hurting us,” he wrote Wallace and others in a previously reported email. “The sooner we pull it even if it gives us major egg. And put it back in his column. The better we are. In my opinion.”
Arizona had never been in Trump’s column, and the Decision Desk, overseen by Bill Sammon, managing editor for Washington, resisted giving it “back” to a candidate who was losing just to satisfy critics.
But Friday night, Nov. 6, when Sammon’s team was ready to call Nevada for Biden, sealing his victory, Wallace refused to air it. “I’m not there yet since it’s for all the marbles — just a heavier burden than an individual state call,” Wallace wrote in a text message obtained by the Times.
Rather than be the first to call the election winner, Fox News became the last. CNN declared Biden the victor the next day at 11:24 a.m., followed by the other networks. Fox News did not concur until 11:40 a.m., about 14 hours after Sammon’s election team internally concluded the race was over.
While Biden held on to Arizona by 10,000 votes, the explosive fallout from Fox News’ call panicked the network. Viewers erupted. Ratings fell.
“I’ve never seen a reaction like this, to any media company,” Tucker Carlson told Scott in a Nov. 9 message released in a court filing. Scott complained to a colleague that Sammon did not understand “the impact to the brand and the arrogance in calling AZ” and it was his job “to protect the brand.”
On Nov. 16, Scott and Wallace convened the Zoom meeting to discuss the Arizona decision. Sammon and Arnon Mishkin, the director of the Decision Desk, were included. Chris Stirewalt, the political editor who had gone on air to defend the call, was not.
Scott invited Baier and MacCallum — “the face” of the network, as she called them — to describe the heat they were taking, according to the recording reviewed by the Times.
“We are still getting bombarded,” Baier said. “It became really hurtful.” He said projections were not enough to call a state when it would be so sensitive. “I know the statistics and the numbers, but there has to be, like, this other layer” so they could “think beyond, about the implications.”
MacCallum agreed: “There’s just obviously been a tremendous amount of backlash, which is, I think, more than any of us anticipated. And so there’s that layer between statistics and news judgment about timing that I think is a factor.” For “a loud faction of our viewership,” she said, the call was a blow.
Neither she nor Baier explained exactly what they meant by another “layer.” A person who was in the meeting and spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions said Saturday that Baier had been talking about process because he was upset the Decision Desk had made the Arizona call without letting the anchors know first.
What no one said at the meeting was that Scott would not let Sammon’s team risk the network’s brand again. She decided to push out Sammon and Stirewalt, but fearing criticism for firing journalists who had gotten the call right, she opted to wait until after Georgia.
Murdoch was not keen on waiting. On Nov. 20, four days after the Zoom meeting, according to documents filed by Dominion, he told Scott, “Maybe best to let Bill go right away,” which would “be a big message with Trump people.”
Sammon, who had called every election correctly over 12 years at Fox News and had just been offered a new three-year contract, was told that same day that his contract would not be renewed after all. He heard not from Fox News but from his lawyer, Robert Barnett. Stirewalt was out too.
Fox News would, in the end, wait until after Georgia to announce the purge, without attributing it to the Arizona call. Sammon, who negotiated a severance package, would call his departure a “retirement,” while Stirewalt’s dismissal was characterized as a “restructuring.”
Three weeks later, Fox News announced a new multiyear contract extension for Scott.
This story was originally published at nytimes.com. Read it here.
Inside the panic at Fox News after the 2020 election | The Seattle Times
An election worker opens the door for early voters at a polling place in Phoenix on Oct. 7, 2020. Fox News was the first to call Arizona for Joe Biden in 2020, thanks to its new multimillion-dollar election-projecting system.
WASHINGTON — A little more than a week after television networks called the 2020 presidential election for Joe Biden, top executives and anchors at Fox News held an after-action meeting to figure out how they had messed up.
Not because they had gotten the key call wrong — but because they had gotten it right. And they had gotten it right before anyone else.
Typically, it is a point of pride for a news network to be the first to project election winners. But Fox News is no typical news network, and in the days after the 2020 vote, it was besieged with angry protests not only from former President Donald Trump’s camp but from its own viewers because it had called the battleground state of Arizona for Biden. Never mind that the call was correct; Fox News executives worried that they would lose viewers to hard-right competitors such as Newsmax.
And so, on Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, Suzanne Scott, CEO of Fox News Media, and Jay Wallace, the network’s president, convened a Zoom meeting for an extraordinary discussion with an unusual goal, according to a recording of the call reviewed by The New York Times: how to keep from angering the network’s conservative audience again by calling an election for a Democrat before the competition.
Maybe, the Fox News executives mused, they should abandon the sophisticated new election-projecting system in which Fox News had invested millions of dollars and revert to the slower, less-accurate model. Or maybe they should base calls not solely on numbers but on how viewers might react. Or maybe they should delay calls, even if they were right, to keep the audience in suspense and boost viewership.
“Listen, it’s one of the sad realities: If we hadn’t called Arizona, those three or four days following Election Day, our ratings would have been bigger,” Scott said. “The mystery would have been still hanging out there.”
Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, the two main anchors, suggested it was not enough to call a state based on numerical calculations, the standard by which networks have made such determinations for generations, but that viewer reaction should be considered. “In a Trump environment,” MacCallum said, “the game is just very, very different.”
The conversation captured the sense of crisis enveloping Fox News after the election and underscored its unique role in the conservative political ecosystem. The network’s conduct in this period has come under intense scrutiny in a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems.
Court filings in recent days revealed that Fox News executives and hosts considered fraud claims by the Trump camp to be “really crazy stuff,” as Rupert Murdoch, head of the Fox media empire, put it, yet pushed them on air anyway. The recording of the Nov. 16 meeting adds further context to the atmosphere inside the network at that time, when executives were on the defensive because of their Arizona call and feared alienating Trump and his supporters.
In a statement Saturday, the network said, “Fox News stood by the Arizona call despite intense scrutiny. Given the extremely narrow 0.3% margin and a new projection mechanism that no other network had, of course there would be a wide-ranging post-mortem surrounding the call and how it was executed no matter the candidates.”
In the crosshairs now is Scott, who joined the network at its inception in 1996 as a programming assistant and worked her way up to become CEO in 2018. Media analysts have speculated that she may take the fall; Murdoch testified in a deposition that executives who knowingly allowed lies to be broadcast “should be reprimanded, maybe got rid of.” But Fox later put out word that she was not in danger.
Scott was among the executives who grew alarmed after the network’s Decision Desk called Arizona for Biden at 11:20 p.m. on election night on Nov. 3, 2020, a projection that infuriated Trump and his aides because it was a swing state that could foreshadow the overall result. No other network called Arizona that night, although The Associated Press did, several hours later, and the Fox News journalists who made the call stood by their judgment.
At 8:30 a.m. the next day, Scott suggested Fox not call any more states until certified by authorities, a formal process that could take days or weeks. She was talked out of that. But the next day, with Biden’s lead in Arizona narrowing, Baier noted that Trump’s campaign was angry and suggested reversing the call. “It’s hurting us,” he wrote Wallace and others in a previously reported email. “The sooner we pull it even if it gives us major egg. And put it back in his column. The better we are. In my opinion.”
Arizona had never been in Trump’s column, and the Decision Desk, overseen by Bill Sammon, managing editor for Washington, resisted giving it “back” to a candidate who was losing just to satisfy critics.
But Friday night, Nov. 6, when Sammon’s team was ready to call Nevada for Biden, sealing his victory, Wallace refused to air it. “I’m not there yet since it’s for all the marbles — just a heavier burden than an individual state call,” Wallace wrote in a text message obtained by the Times.
Rather than be the first to call the election winner, Fox News became the last. CNN declared Biden the victor the next day at 11:24 a.m., followed by the other networks. Fox News did not concur until 11:40 a.m., about 14 hours after Sammon’s election team internally concluded the race was over.
While Biden held on to Arizona by 10,000 votes, the explosive fallout from Fox News’ call panicked the network. Viewers erupted. Ratings fell.
“I’ve never seen a reaction like this, to any media company,” Tucker Carlson told Scott in a Nov. 9 message released in a court filing. Scott complained to a colleague that Sammon did not understand “the impact to the brand and the arrogance in calling AZ” and it was his job “to protect the brand.”
On Nov. 16, Scott and Wallace convened the Zoom meeting to discuss the Arizona decision. Sammon and Arnon Mishkin, the director of the Decision Desk, were included. Chris Stirewalt, the political editor who had gone on air to defend the call, was not.
Scott invited Baier and MacCallum — “the face” of the network, as she called them — to describe the heat they were taking, according to the recording reviewed by the Times.
“We are still getting bombarded,” Baier said. “It became really hurtful.” He said projections were not enough to call a state when it would be so sensitive. “I know the statistics and the numbers, but there has to be, like, this other layer” so they could “think beyond, about the implications.”
MacCallum agreed: “There’s just obviously been a tremendous amount of backlash, which is, I think, more than any of us anticipated. And so there’s that layer between statistics and news judgment about timing that I think is a factor.” For “a loud faction of our viewership,” she said, the call was a blow.
Neither she nor Baier explained exactly what they meant by another “layer.” A person who was in the meeting and spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions said Saturday that Baier had been talking about process because he was upset the Decision Desk had made the Arizona call without letting the anchors know first.
What no one said at the meeting was that Scott would not let Sammon’s team risk the network’s brand again. She decided to push out Sammon and Stirewalt, but fearing criticism for firing journalists who had gotten the call right, she opted to wait until after Georgia.
Murdoch was not keen on waiting. On Nov. 20, four days after the Zoom meeting, according to documents filed by Dominion, he told Scott, “Maybe best to let Bill go right away,” which would “be a big message with Trump people.”
Sammon, who had called every election correctly over 12 years at Fox News and had just been offered a new three-year contract, was told that same day that his contract would not be renewed after all. He heard not from Fox News but from his lawyer, Robert Barnett. Stirewalt was out too.
Fox News would, in the end, wait until after Georgia to announce the purge, without attributing it to the Arizona call. Sammon, who negotiated a severance package, would call his departure a “retirement,” while Stirewalt’s dismissal was characterized as a “restructuring.”
Three weeks later, Fox News announced a new multiyear contract extension for Scott.
This story was originally published at nytimes.com. Read it here.
Inside the panic at Fox News after the 2020 election | The Seattle Times
Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch rejected election conspiracy theories, Dominion lawsuit documents show
New YorkCNN — A trove of text messages, emails, and other material from Fox News executives and on-air personalities were made public Tuesday as part of Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against the right-wing channel.
Among the the hundreds of pages of previously unreleased documents include repeated statements from Fox Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch rejecting conspiracy theories about Dominion that his own network promoted after the 2020 election. And Internal Fox News emails and messages — also made public Tuesday — further show how Fox News’ staff privately dismissed some of the election conspiracies that were promoted on-air.
Dominion has alleged in its lawsuit that during the 2020 presidential election the right-wing talk channel “recklessly disregarded the truth” and pushed various pro-Donald Trump conspiracy theories about the election technology company because “the lies were good for Fox’s business.”
In a statement Tuesday, Fox News accused Dominion of distortions, misinformation and misattributing quotes as part of an attempt to “smear Fox News and trample on free speech and freedom of the press.”
Dominion on Tuesday said, “the emails, texts, and deposition testimony speak for themselves.”
“We welcome all scrutiny of our evidence because it all leads to the same place — Fox knowingly spread lies causing enormous damage to an American company,” Dominion said.
Murdoch rejected conspiracy theories
In a January deposition, Murdoch rejected conspiracy theories about Dominion, according to a transcript of his deposition released Tuesday.
“Do you believe that Dominion was engaged in a massive and coordinated effort to steal the 2020 presidential election?” Murdoch was asked by Dominion lawyers.
“No,” Murdoch replied.
“Have you ever seen any credible evidence to suggest that Dominion was engaged in a massive and coordinated effort to steal the 2020 presidential election?” the Dominion lawyer pressed.
“Have you ever believed that Dominion was engaged in a massive and coordinated effort to steal the 2020 presidential election?” the Dominion lawyer asked.
“No,” Murdoch replied.
“You’ve never believed that Dominion was involved in an effort to delegitimize and destroy votes for Donald Trump, correct?” the Dominion lawyer asked.
“I’m open to persuasion; but, no, I’ve never seen it,” Murdoch replied.
The hundreds of pages of new documents that came out Tuesday include previously unreleased excerpts from key depositions, including Murdoch, and are part of Dominion’s defamation lawsuit against Fox News.
Fox News denies wrongdoing and says the judge should resolve the case in favor before it even goes to trial, which is scheduled for next month in Delaware.
Fox News staff privately rejected Sidney Powell’s election conspiracies
In messages from November 2020, then-Fox Business host Lou Dobbs asked producer John Fawcett what he thought of a recent lawsuit Sidney Powell filed attempting to overturn the 2020 election.
“It’s complete bs,” Fawcett responded, according to court filings made public Tuesday. “I can’t believe that was the kraken,” he added, referring to the phrase Powell used to describe the meritless suits she filed across the country.
Dobbs was one of the most notorious on-air promoters of Powell’s conspiracy theories related to Dominion and the 2020 election before his show was canceled in February 2021.
Additionally, shortly after the 2020 election, Fox News host Tucker Carlson acknowledged that Powell wasn’t telling the truth.
According to a court filing released Tuesday, Carlson told an unknown number on November 17, 2020, that “Sidney Powell is lying” and called her an expletive.
Fox’s DC chief decried ‘existential crisis’ over voter fraud claims
More than a month after the 2020 election, then-Fox News DC Managing Editor Bill Sammon decried the network’s coverage of false election claims in private messages to a colleague, fearing it had become an “existential crisis” for the right-wing channel.
“More than 20 minutes into our flagship evening news broadcast and we’re still focused solely on supposed election fraud – a month after the election,” Sammon wrote to then-political editor Chris Stirewalt. “It’s remarkable how weak ratings makes good journalists do bad things.”
Stirewalt replied, “it’s a real mess.”
The messages were part of hundreds of pages of documents released Tuesday in Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit against Fox News. (The network denies wrongdoing.)
“In my 22 years affiliated with Fox, this is the closest thing I’ve seen to an existential crisis - at least journalistically,” Sammon said.
“What’s most worrisome is that there doesn’t seem to be much conflict,” Stirewalt said.
“What I see us doing is losing the silent majority of viewers as we chase the nuts off a cliff,” Sammon replied.
Both men, Sammon and Stirewalt, departed the company in early 2021.
Murdoch said top Fox hosts maybe ‘went too far’
Murdoch said in a January 2021 email that two of his top TV hosts maybe “went too far,” in an apparent reference to their election denial after Donald Trump lost.
“Maybe Sean and Laura went too far,” Murdoch wrote in the email, referring to Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham. “All very well for Sean to tell you he was in despair about Trump, but what did he tell his viewers?”
Murdoch sent the email to Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott on January 21, 2021, the first full day of President Joe Biden’s administration. The email also mentioned the ongoing impeachment proceedings against Trump.
In the email, Murdoch asked Scott if it was “unarguable that high profile Fox voices fed the story that the election was stolen and that January 6th (was) an important chance to have the result overturned”?
Later, Scott sent the question to Irena Briganti, Fox News’ senior vice president for corporate communications, requesting a specific answer. Briganti responded with more than 15 pages of transcript excerpts from Fox hosts Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, Jeanine Pirro, Sean Hannity and Mark Levin.
Murdoch helped Trump campaign with TV ads in 2020
In the final stretch of the 2020 presidential campaign, Fox Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch informally helped the Trump campaign with its TV ad strategy, according to the new filings.
Murdoch prodded Jared Kushner to improve the Trump campaign’s TV ads, the documents show. Murdoch said candidate Joe Biden’s advertisements were “a lot better” than Trump’s, pointed out that Trump’s campaign was “spending less on TV than Biden.”
Dominion Voting Systems, which is suing Fox News for defamation, previously revealed the existence of the Murdoch-Kushner exchange. But the email itself became public Tuesday, as part of a massive trove of depositions and internal Fox messages.
The email exchange yet again highlights Murdoch’s controversial dual role as a TV news mogul and an informal political adviser to senior Republicans in Washington.
On September 24, 2021, Murdoch texted Kushner: “Know you are spending less on tv than Biden. However my people tell me his advs are a lot better creatively than yours. Just passing by it on.”
Kushner replied: “Should have some new creative out this week. I did a review and like what I’m seeing. I will now be reviewing this every week until the end as the real money is starting to be spent on TV and Digital to move voters universes and turn out the base voters.”
Murdoch responded, “Your adv at 1 pm this Sunday an improvement, but Biden in same football is extremely good. Or I think so! Will send it.” It’s not clear what he was referring to by mentioning football. Dominion claimed in previous filings that Murdoch gave “confidential information” to Kushner by sending him versions of Biden’s paid TV ads that hadn’t publicly aired yet on the network.
Fox and its parent company have denied wrongdoing and say the defamation claims are meritless.
Murdoch was furious over Fox’s decision to project Biden’s 2020 win
Murdoch lashed out in an email on Nov. 7, 2020, over an imminent projection by Fox News to project that Joe Biden would become the next president.
“CNN declares and FOX coming in minutes,” Murdoch wrote to former New York Post editor-in-chief Col Allan. “I hate our Decision Desk people! And pollsters! Some of the same people I think. Just for the hell of it still praying for Az to prove them wrong!,” he said in reference to Biden’s victory over Donald Trump.
In a separate email that same day, Murdoch emailed his son, Lachlan, lamenting: “We should and could have gone first (calling the election for Biden) but at least being second saves us a Trump explosion!”
Lachlan, the Fox Corporation CEO, responded, “I think good to be careful. Especially as we are still somewhat exposed on Arizona.”
Two days later, Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott texted Lachlan Murdoch that Fox viewers were “going through the 5 stages of grief” over Trump’s election loss.
“It’s two days after Biden was declared President elect. Viewers going through the 5 stages of grief,” Scott wrote to Lachlan Murdoch, according to court documents. “It’s a question of trust – the AZ was damaging but we will highlight our stars and plant flags letting the viewers know we hear them and respect them.”
“Yes. But needs constant rebuilding without any misteps [sic],” Lachlan Murdoch responded, before adding criticism of anchor Neil Cavuto and correspondent Chad Pergram, who are some of the less-partisan personalities at the right-wing network.
Fox under scrutiny
The Dominion lawsuit is one of two separate cases brought by voting technology companies against Fox News that collectively seek $4.3 billion in damages, posing a serious threat to the highly profitable arm of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. Fox News has not only vigorously denied the claims, it has insisted it is “proud” of its 2020 election coverage.
The recent court filings in the Dominion case have offered the most vivid picture to date of the chaos that transpired behind the scenes at Fox News after Trump lost the election.
In one particularly damaging admission revealed in the case last month, Murdoch acknowledged that several Fox News hosts endorsed false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
“They endorsed,” Murdoch said, referring to Hannity, Jeanine Pirro, Maria Bartiromo, and former host Lou Dobbs.
“Some of our commentators were endorsing it,” he said, when asked about the talk hosts’ on-air positions about the election. “I would have liked us to be stronger in denouncing it, in hindsight,” he added.
In his deposition, Murdoch also acknowledged that it was “wrong” for Carlson to have hosted election conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell on his program following the presidential contest.
CONTINUED:
Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch rejected election conspiracy theories, Dominion lawsuit documents show | CNN Business
.
New YorkCNN — A trove of text messages, emails, and other material from Fox News executives and on-air personalities were made public Tuesday as part of Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against the right-wing channel.
Among the the hundreds of pages of previously unreleased documents include repeated statements from Fox Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch rejecting conspiracy theories about Dominion that his own network promoted after the 2020 election. And Internal Fox News emails and messages — also made public Tuesday — further show how Fox News’ staff privately dismissed some of the election conspiracies that were promoted on-air.
Dominion has alleged in its lawsuit that during the 2020 presidential election the right-wing talk channel “recklessly disregarded the truth” and pushed various pro-Donald Trump conspiracy theories about the election technology company because “the lies were good for Fox’s business.”
In a statement Tuesday, Fox News accused Dominion of distortions, misinformation and misattributing quotes as part of an attempt to “smear Fox News and trample on free speech and freedom of the press.”
Dominion on Tuesday said, “the emails, texts, and deposition testimony speak for themselves.”
“We welcome all scrutiny of our evidence because it all leads to the same place — Fox knowingly spread lies causing enormous damage to an American company,” Dominion said.
Murdoch rejected conspiracy theories
In a January deposition, Murdoch rejected conspiracy theories about Dominion, according to a transcript of his deposition released Tuesday.
“Do you believe that Dominion was engaged in a massive and coordinated effort to steal the 2020 presidential election?” Murdoch was asked by Dominion lawyers.
“No,” Murdoch replied.
“Have you ever seen any credible evidence to suggest that Dominion was engaged in a massive and coordinated effort to steal the 2020 presidential election?” the Dominion lawyer pressed.
“Have you ever believed that Dominion was engaged in a massive and coordinated effort to steal the 2020 presidential election?” the Dominion lawyer asked.
“No,” Murdoch replied.
“You’ve never believed that Dominion was involved in an effort to delegitimize and destroy votes for Donald Trump, correct?” the Dominion lawyer asked.
“I’m open to persuasion; but, no, I’ve never seen it,” Murdoch replied.
The hundreds of pages of new documents that came out Tuesday include previously unreleased excerpts from key depositions, including Murdoch, and are part of Dominion’s defamation lawsuit against Fox News.
Fox News denies wrongdoing and says the judge should resolve the case in favor before it even goes to trial, which is scheduled for next month in Delaware.
Fox News staff privately rejected Sidney Powell’s election conspiracies
In messages from November 2020, then-Fox Business host Lou Dobbs asked producer John Fawcett what he thought of a recent lawsuit Sidney Powell filed attempting to overturn the 2020 election.
“It’s complete bs,” Fawcett responded, according to court filings made public Tuesday. “I can’t believe that was the kraken,” he added, referring to the phrase Powell used to describe the meritless suits she filed across the country.
Dobbs was one of the most notorious on-air promoters of Powell’s conspiracy theories related to Dominion and the 2020 election before his show was canceled in February 2021.
Additionally, shortly after the 2020 election, Fox News host Tucker Carlson acknowledged that Powell wasn’t telling the truth.
According to a court filing released Tuesday, Carlson told an unknown number on November 17, 2020, that “Sidney Powell is lying” and called her an expletive.
Fox’s DC chief decried ‘existential crisis’ over voter fraud claims
More than a month after the 2020 election, then-Fox News DC Managing Editor Bill Sammon decried the network’s coverage of false election claims in private messages to a colleague, fearing it had become an “existential crisis” for the right-wing channel.
“More than 20 minutes into our flagship evening news broadcast and we’re still focused solely on supposed election fraud – a month after the election,” Sammon wrote to then-political editor Chris Stirewalt. “It’s remarkable how weak ratings makes good journalists do bad things.”
Stirewalt replied, “it’s a real mess.”
The messages were part of hundreds of pages of documents released Tuesday in Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit against Fox News. (The network denies wrongdoing.)
“In my 22 years affiliated with Fox, this is the closest thing I’ve seen to an existential crisis - at least journalistically,” Sammon said.
“What’s most worrisome is that there doesn’t seem to be much conflict,” Stirewalt said.
“What I see us doing is losing the silent majority of viewers as we chase the nuts off a cliff,” Sammon replied.
Both men, Sammon and Stirewalt, departed the company in early 2021.
Murdoch said top Fox hosts maybe ‘went too far’
Murdoch said in a January 2021 email that two of his top TV hosts maybe “went too far,” in an apparent reference to their election denial after Donald Trump lost.
“Maybe Sean and Laura went too far,” Murdoch wrote in the email, referring to Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham. “All very well for Sean to tell you he was in despair about Trump, but what did he tell his viewers?”
Murdoch sent the email to Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott on January 21, 2021, the first full day of President Joe Biden’s administration. The email also mentioned the ongoing impeachment proceedings against Trump.
In the email, Murdoch asked Scott if it was “unarguable that high profile Fox voices fed the story that the election was stolen and that January 6th (was) an important chance to have the result overturned”?
Later, Scott sent the question to Irena Briganti, Fox News’ senior vice president for corporate communications, requesting a specific answer. Briganti responded with more than 15 pages of transcript excerpts from Fox hosts Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, Jeanine Pirro, Sean Hannity and Mark Levin.
Murdoch helped Trump campaign with TV ads in 2020
In the final stretch of the 2020 presidential campaign, Fox Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch informally helped the Trump campaign with its TV ad strategy, according to the new filings.
Murdoch prodded Jared Kushner to improve the Trump campaign’s TV ads, the documents show. Murdoch said candidate Joe Biden’s advertisements were “a lot better” than Trump’s, pointed out that Trump’s campaign was “spending less on TV than Biden.”
Dominion Voting Systems, which is suing Fox News for defamation, previously revealed the existence of the Murdoch-Kushner exchange. But the email itself became public Tuesday, as part of a massive trove of depositions and internal Fox messages.
The email exchange yet again highlights Murdoch’s controversial dual role as a TV news mogul and an informal political adviser to senior Republicans in Washington.
On September 24, 2021, Murdoch texted Kushner: “Know you are spending less on tv than Biden. However my people tell me his advs are a lot better creatively than yours. Just passing by it on.”
Kushner replied: “Should have some new creative out this week. I did a review and like what I’m seeing. I will now be reviewing this every week until the end as the real money is starting to be spent on TV and Digital to move voters universes and turn out the base voters.”
Murdoch responded, “Your adv at 1 pm this Sunday an improvement, but Biden in same football is extremely good. Or I think so! Will send it.” It’s not clear what he was referring to by mentioning football. Dominion claimed in previous filings that Murdoch gave “confidential information” to Kushner by sending him versions of Biden’s paid TV ads that hadn’t publicly aired yet on the network.
Fox and its parent company have denied wrongdoing and say the defamation claims are meritless.
Murdoch was furious over Fox’s decision to project Biden’s 2020 win
Murdoch lashed out in an email on Nov. 7, 2020, over an imminent projection by Fox News to project that Joe Biden would become the next president.
“CNN declares and FOX coming in minutes,” Murdoch wrote to former New York Post editor-in-chief Col Allan. “I hate our Decision Desk people! And pollsters! Some of the same people I think. Just for the hell of it still praying for Az to prove them wrong!,” he said in reference to Biden’s victory over Donald Trump.
In a separate email that same day, Murdoch emailed his son, Lachlan, lamenting: “We should and could have gone first (calling the election for Biden) but at least being second saves us a Trump explosion!”
Lachlan, the Fox Corporation CEO, responded, “I think good to be careful. Especially as we are still somewhat exposed on Arizona.”
Two days later, Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott texted Lachlan Murdoch that Fox viewers were “going through the 5 stages of grief” over Trump’s election loss.
“It’s two days after Biden was declared President elect. Viewers going through the 5 stages of grief,” Scott wrote to Lachlan Murdoch, according to court documents. “It’s a question of trust – the AZ was damaging but we will highlight our stars and plant flags letting the viewers know we hear them and respect them.”
“Yes. But needs constant rebuilding without any misteps [sic],” Lachlan Murdoch responded, before adding criticism of anchor Neil Cavuto and correspondent Chad Pergram, who are some of the less-partisan personalities at the right-wing network.
Fox under scrutiny
The Dominion lawsuit is one of two separate cases brought by voting technology companies against Fox News that collectively seek $4.3 billion in damages, posing a serious threat to the highly profitable arm of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. Fox News has not only vigorously denied the claims, it has insisted it is “proud” of its 2020 election coverage.
The recent court filings in the Dominion case have offered the most vivid picture to date of the chaos that transpired behind the scenes at Fox News after Trump lost the election.
In one particularly damaging admission revealed in the case last month, Murdoch acknowledged that several Fox News hosts endorsed false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
“They endorsed,” Murdoch said, referring to Hannity, Jeanine Pirro, Maria Bartiromo, and former host Lou Dobbs.
“Some of our commentators were endorsing it,” he said, when asked about the talk hosts’ on-air positions about the election. “I would have liked us to be stronger in denouncing it, in hindsight,” he added.
In his deposition, Murdoch also acknowledged that it was “wrong” for Carlson to have hosted election conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell on his program following the presidential contest.
CONTINUED:
Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch rejected election conspiracy theories, Dominion lawsuit documents show | CNN Business
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'I hate him passionately': Tucker Carlson was fed up with Trump after the 2020 election
Hundreds of pages of exhibits were the latest documents to be unsealed as part of Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News.
On Jan. 4, 2021, Fox News host Tucker Carlson was done with Donald Trump.
"We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly can’t wait," he texted an unidentified person.
"I hate him passionately. ... I can’t handle much more of this," he added.
By this time, Fox News was in crisis mode. It had angered its audience when it correctly said Joe Biden had won Arizona in the presidential election. Executives and hosts were worried about losing viewers to upstart rivals, most notably Newsmax.
The private comments were a far cry from what Carlson's viewers were used to hearing from the stalwart conservative host on his prime-time show every night.
“We’re all pretending we’ve got a lot to show for it, because admitting what a disaster it’s been is too tough to digest,” he wrote in another text message, referring to the "last four years." “But come on. There isn’t really an upside to Trump.”
The revelation is in hundreds of pages of testimony, private text messages and emails from top Fox News journalists and executives that were made public Tuesday, adding to the trove of documents that show a network in crisis after it alienated core viewers by reporting accurately on the results of the 2020 presidential election.
A judge unsealed the documents, along with parts of some employee depositions, as part of Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News.
The messages are blunt and, at times, profane, as hosts and top executives panicked about how to boost their ratings as Trump refused to acknowledge his defeat. The depositions, meanwhile, offer the broadest picture yet of how executives including Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch allowed baseless conspiracy theories to flourish on air.
In a statement, Fox News accused Dominion of dishonestly portraying key figures' internal communications.
“Thanks to today’s filings, Dominion has been caught red handed using more distortions and misinformation in their PR campaign to smear FOX News and trample on free speech and freedom of the press," the statement said. "We already know they will say and do anything to try to win this case, but to twist and even misattribute quotes to the highest levels of our company is truly beyond the pale.”
Smaller snippets of the exchanges were referred to in two Dominion briefs made public in a Delaware court last month, when Dominion sought a summary judgment ruling from the judge and opposed Fox News' motion asking the judge to dismiss the case.
Dominion's briefs previously revealed that top figures at Fox News privately blasted election fraud claims as "crazy" and "insane," even as the network aired them on television, and that top boss Murdoch considered some of Trump's voter fraud claims to be “bulls--- and damaging” yet acknowledged in a deposition that he did nothing to rein in hosts who were promoting the bogus claims in the days after the 2020 election.
“The emails, texts, and deposition testimony speak for themselves. We welcome all scrutiny of our evidence because it all leads to the same place — Fox knowingly spread lies causing enormous damage to an American company," a Dominion spokesman told NBC News.
Dominion, a voting machine company, sued Fox News in March 2021, alleging it caused "severe damage" by giving oxygen to conspiracy theories it knew were false, including bogus claims that Dominion equipment was used to rig the 2020 election for Biden, that it was tied to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and that it bribed U.S. government officials.
Tensions between Trump and Fox News have escalated in recent months as more revelations have come out and as Murdoch's media empire has featured Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a possible 2024 rival. Steve Bannon, a former White House official and longtime Trump ally, has in essence declared war on Murdoch and Fox. Trump has also been going after them in messages on his Truth Social platform.
Fox News has said it was "proud of our 2020 election coverage, which stands in the highest tradition of American journalism," and it argued that the Dominion lawsuit is designed only to garner headlines. Dominion argues that the First Amendment does not allow media outlets to broadcast conspiracy theories they know are false.
“As the dominant media company among those viewers dissatisfied with the election results, Fox gave these fictions a prominence they otherwise would never have achieved. With Fox’s global platform, an audience of hundreds of millions, and the inevitable and extensive republication and dissemination of the falsehoods through social media, these lies deeply damaged Dominion’s once-thriving business,” the 441-page lawsuit says. “Fox took a small flame and turned it into a forest fire.”
Here are some of the key highlights:
Murdoch worried Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham 'went too far'
In his email to Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott on Jan. 21, 2021, the day after Biden was inaugurated, Murdoch discussed the heat he was getting from GOP senators for stories suggesting the election had been stolen.
“Still getting mud thrown at us!” Murdoch wrote. “Maybe Sean and Laura went too far,” he continued, referring to prime-time hosts Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham.
He also asked Scott whether it was “unarguable that high profile Fox voices fed the story that the election was stolen and that January 6th an important chance to have the result overturned.”
Scott punted the request to a group of executives, noting “please send specifics.”
Six hours later, Irena Briganti, the Fox News executive in charge of communications, responded with more than 15 pages of transcripts of examples.
In an email the day after Joe Biden was inaugurated, Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch wondered whether some Fox News hosts "went too far" pushing the stolen election myth.
Prime-time hosts were furious at the news division for its accurate election call
In a group text chain from mid-November, Hannity, Ingraham and Carlson complained about their news colleagues and the network’s decision to call Arizona in favor of Biden. Fox News was the first network to do so, and the call was accurate.
“Why would anyone defend that call,” Hannity asked.
“My anger at the news channel is pronounced,” Ingraham said later in the exchange.
Carlson piped in, saying: “It should be. We devote our lives to building an audience and they let Chris Wallace and Leland [expletive] Vittert wreck it. Too much.”
Wallace and Vittert were Fox News hosts and anchors at the time.
Maria Bartiromo said she would not refer to Biden as the president-elect on air
In text messages with Bannon on Nov. 10, 2020, Fox News host Maria Bartiromo said, "Omg I'm so depressed. I can't take this," and lamented how upsetting it was to watch the "world move forward."
"I want to see massive fraud exposed. Will he be able to turn this around," she added, referring to Trump. "I told my team we are not allowed to say pres elect at all. Not in scripts or in banners on air. Until this moves through the courts."
"You are our fighter," Bannon later replied. "Enough with the sad ! We need u."
Biden was projected the winner of the presidential race on Nov. 7.
Murdoch predicted Trump would soon be 'irrelevant'
In an email to former Fox executive Preston Padden 20 days after the election, Murdoch said he believed the network was "navigating" everything "pretty well."
"And losing tons of viewers - but not leadership yet! Just have to hold our nerve and up our game! In another month Trump will be becoming irrelevant and we'll have lots to say about Biden, Dems, and appointments - so far pretty dull," he predicted.
Murdoch's name is redacted, but the email was mentioned and attributed to him in previously released briefs.
CONTINUED:
Private Fox News text messages, emails released in Dominion suit (nbcnews.com)
Hundreds of pages of exhibits were the latest documents to be unsealed as part of Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News.
On Jan. 4, 2021, Fox News host Tucker Carlson was done with Donald Trump.
"We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly can’t wait," he texted an unidentified person.
"I hate him passionately. ... I can’t handle much more of this," he added.
By this time, Fox News was in crisis mode. It had angered its audience when it correctly said Joe Biden had won Arizona in the presidential election. Executives and hosts were worried about losing viewers to upstart rivals, most notably Newsmax.
The private comments were a far cry from what Carlson's viewers were used to hearing from the stalwart conservative host on his prime-time show every night.
“We’re all pretending we’ve got a lot to show for it, because admitting what a disaster it’s been is too tough to digest,” he wrote in another text message, referring to the "last four years." “But come on. There isn’t really an upside to Trump.”
The revelation is in hundreds of pages of testimony, private text messages and emails from top Fox News journalists and executives that were made public Tuesday, adding to the trove of documents that show a network in crisis after it alienated core viewers by reporting accurately on the results of the 2020 presidential election.
A judge unsealed the documents, along with parts of some employee depositions, as part of Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News.
The messages are blunt and, at times, profane, as hosts and top executives panicked about how to boost their ratings as Trump refused to acknowledge his defeat. The depositions, meanwhile, offer the broadest picture yet of how executives including Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch allowed baseless conspiracy theories to flourish on air.
In a statement, Fox News accused Dominion of dishonestly portraying key figures' internal communications.
“Thanks to today’s filings, Dominion has been caught red handed using more distortions and misinformation in their PR campaign to smear FOX News and trample on free speech and freedom of the press," the statement said. "We already know they will say and do anything to try to win this case, but to twist and even misattribute quotes to the highest levels of our company is truly beyond the pale.”
Smaller snippets of the exchanges were referred to in two Dominion briefs made public in a Delaware court last month, when Dominion sought a summary judgment ruling from the judge and opposed Fox News' motion asking the judge to dismiss the case.
Dominion's briefs previously revealed that top figures at Fox News privately blasted election fraud claims as "crazy" and "insane," even as the network aired them on television, and that top boss Murdoch considered some of Trump's voter fraud claims to be “bulls--- and damaging” yet acknowledged in a deposition that he did nothing to rein in hosts who were promoting the bogus claims in the days after the 2020 election.
“The emails, texts, and deposition testimony speak for themselves. We welcome all scrutiny of our evidence because it all leads to the same place — Fox knowingly spread lies causing enormous damage to an American company," a Dominion spokesman told NBC News.
Dominion, a voting machine company, sued Fox News in March 2021, alleging it caused "severe damage" by giving oxygen to conspiracy theories it knew were false, including bogus claims that Dominion equipment was used to rig the 2020 election for Biden, that it was tied to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and that it bribed U.S. government officials.
Tensions between Trump and Fox News have escalated in recent months as more revelations have come out and as Murdoch's media empire has featured Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a possible 2024 rival. Steve Bannon, a former White House official and longtime Trump ally, has in essence declared war on Murdoch and Fox. Trump has also been going after them in messages on his Truth Social platform.
Fox News has said it was "proud of our 2020 election coverage, which stands in the highest tradition of American journalism," and it argued that the Dominion lawsuit is designed only to garner headlines. Dominion argues that the First Amendment does not allow media outlets to broadcast conspiracy theories they know are false.
“As the dominant media company among those viewers dissatisfied with the election results, Fox gave these fictions a prominence they otherwise would never have achieved. With Fox’s global platform, an audience of hundreds of millions, and the inevitable and extensive republication and dissemination of the falsehoods through social media, these lies deeply damaged Dominion’s once-thriving business,” the 441-page lawsuit says. “Fox took a small flame and turned it into a forest fire.”
Here are some of the key highlights:
Murdoch worried Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham 'went too far'
In his email to Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott on Jan. 21, 2021, the day after Biden was inaugurated, Murdoch discussed the heat he was getting from GOP senators for stories suggesting the election had been stolen.
“Still getting mud thrown at us!” Murdoch wrote. “Maybe Sean and Laura went too far,” he continued, referring to prime-time hosts Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham.
He also asked Scott whether it was “unarguable that high profile Fox voices fed the story that the election was stolen and that January 6th an important chance to have the result overturned.”
Scott punted the request to a group of executives, noting “please send specifics.”
Six hours later, Irena Briganti, the Fox News executive in charge of communications, responded with more than 15 pages of transcripts of examples.
In an email the day after Joe Biden was inaugurated, Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch wondered whether some Fox News hosts "went too far" pushing the stolen election myth.
Prime-time hosts were furious at the news division for its accurate election call
In a group text chain from mid-November, Hannity, Ingraham and Carlson complained about their news colleagues and the network’s decision to call Arizona in favor of Biden. Fox News was the first network to do so, and the call was accurate.
“Why would anyone defend that call,” Hannity asked.
“My anger at the news channel is pronounced,” Ingraham said later in the exchange.
Carlson piped in, saying: “It should be. We devote our lives to building an audience and they let Chris Wallace and Leland [expletive] Vittert wreck it. Too much.”
Wallace and Vittert were Fox News hosts and anchors at the time.
Maria Bartiromo said she would not refer to Biden as the president-elect on air
In text messages with Bannon on Nov. 10, 2020, Fox News host Maria Bartiromo said, "Omg I'm so depressed. I can't take this," and lamented how upsetting it was to watch the "world move forward."
"I want to see massive fraud exposed. Will he be able to turn this around," she added, referring to Trump. "I told my team we are not allowed to say pres elect at all. Not in scripts or in banners on air. Until this moves through the courts."
"You are our fighter," Bannon later replied. "Enough with the sad ! We need u."
Biden was projected the winner of the presidential race on Nov. 7.
Murdoch predicted Trump would soon be 'irrelevant'
In an email to former Fox executive Preston Padden 20 days after the election, Murdoch said he believed the network was "navigating" everything "pretty well."
"And losing tons of viewers - but not leadership yet! Just have to hold our nerve and up our game! In another month Trump will be becoming irrelevant and we'll have lots to say about Biden, Dems, and appointments - so far pretty dull," he predicted.
Murdoch's name is redacted, but the email was mentioned and attributed to him in previously released briefs.
CONTINUED:
Private Fox News text messages, emails released in Dominion suit (nbcnews.com)
This has been at a slow n steady boil for a minute now..... the temperature is going up and when the trial starts April 13th..... shits gonna really start to boil over
Dominion Wins Almost Everything On Summary Judgement Against Fox
Dominion Wins Almost Everything On Summary Judgement Against Fox
Today Judge Eric Davis issued a ruling on cross motions for summary judgement in Dominion’s multi-billion dollar defamation lawsuit against Fox News. The media is generally reporting this decision as akin to a tie. That’s because the judge, while...
www.dailykos.com
Was just coming to post this...... thankyou wenchDominion Wins Almost Everything On Summary Judgement Against Fox
Dominion Wins Almost Everything On Summary Judgement Against Fox
Today Judge Eric Davis issued a ruling on cross motions for summary judgement in Dominion’s multi-billion dollar defamation lawsuit against Fox News. The media is generally reporting this decision as akin to a tie. That’s because the judge, while...www.dailykos.com
Judge says even that old cracker Aussie Murdoch's going to testify along with Hannity, Carlson, Dobbs, Bartiromo, Baier, Perino and Scott
The list promises a high-wattage parade of witnesses at the jury trial scheduled to start on April 17 and expected to last about four weeks.
Fox News says Carlson, Hannity, Bartiromo set to testify at defamation trial
April 4 (Reuters) - Fox News said Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Maria Bartiromo and other top on-air personalities will be available to testify as it defends itself against a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit claiming it lied about voter fraud in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
In a letter filed on Tuesday in Delaware Superior Court, Fox said the hosts are among 11 people the cable television network intends to make available at trial, in a case brought by Dominion Voting Systems.
Fox host Jeanine Pirro and former host Lou Dobbs are also on Fox's witness list, and others including hosts Bret Baier and Dana Perino could be called to testify by either side, the letter said.
The list promises a high-wattage parade of witnesses at the jury trial scheduled to start on April 17 and expected to last about four weeks.
Dominion is hoping to prove that Fox ruined its reputation by repeatedly airing false claims by former Republican President Donald Trump, his lawyers and others that its voting machines were used to steal the 2020 election for Democrat Joe Biden.
The Denver-based company has said emails, texts and depositions show that Fox aired false election claims to boost profit and keep viewers from defecting to the right-wing outlets Newsmax and OAN, which also embraced Trump's claims.
To prevail, Dominion must establish that Fox acted with actual malice, meaning that it knowingly spread false information or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.
Fox has argued that its coverage was protected by the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment because election fraud claims were inherently newsworthy, and its hosts and guests were entitled to express their opinions.
But on Friday, Judge Eric Davis rejected much of Fox's defense, and said Dominion's case was strong enough to go to a jury.
"The evidence developed in this civil proceeding demonstrates that (it) is CRYSTAL clear that none of the statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true," he wrote.
Fox faces a similar lawsuit by another voting technology company, Smartmatic, which is seeking $2.7 billion in damages.
Fox News says Carlson, Hannity, Bartiromo set to testify at defamation trial | Reuters
The list promises a high-wattage parade of witnesses at the jury trial scheduled to start on April 17 and expected to last about four weeks.
Fox News says Carlson, Hannity, Bartiromo set to testify at defamation trial
April 4 (Reuters) - Fox News said Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Maria Bartiromo and other top on-air personalities will be available to testify as it defends itself against a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit claiming it lied about voter fraud in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
In a letter filed on Tuesday in Delaware Superior Court, Fox said the hosts are among 11 people the cable television network intends to make available at trial, in a case brought by Dominion Voting Systems.
Fox host Jeanine Pirro and former host Lou Dobbs are also on Fox's witness list, and others including hosts Bret Baier and Dana Perino could be called to testify by either side, the letter said.
The list promises a high-wattage parade of witnesses at the jury trial scheduled to start on April 17 and expected to last about four weeks.
Dominion is hoping to prove that Fox ruined its reputation by repeatedly airing false claims by former Republican President Donald Trump, his lawyers and others that its voting machines were used to steal the 2020 election for Democrat Joe Biden.
The Denver-based company has said emails, texts and depositions show that Fox aired false election claims to boost profit and keep viewers from defecting to the right-wing outlets Newsmax and OAN, which also embraced Trump's claims.
To prevail, Dominion must establish that Fox acted with actual malice, meaning that it knowingly spread false information or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.
Fox has argued that its coverage was protected by the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment because election fraud claims were inherently newsworthy, and its hosts and guests were entitled to express their opinions.
But on Friday, Judge Eric Davis rejected much of Fox's defense, and said Dominion's case was strong enough to go to a jury.
"The evidence developed in this civil proceeding demonstrates that (it) is CRYSTAL clear that none of the statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true," he wrote.
Fox faces a similar lawsuit by another voting technology company, Smartmatic, which is seeking $2.7 billion in damages.
Fox News says Carlson, Hannity, Bartiromo set to testify at defamation trial | Reuters
Don't forget, waiting in the wings is Smartmatic with a 2.7 Billion suit. The only thing that could make this more entertaining is if they got lindell on the stand.
I agree with this 125%:
CITIZEN JENN
@JenniferLynne61
"Fox should be required by the jury to admit to their viewers how Fox deceived them. This requirement should preface the beginning of EVERY TV segment that airs on Fox, hour by hour, day by day, for 3-6 months."
.
CITIZEN JENN
@JenniferLynne61
"Fox should be required by the jury to admit to their viewers how Fox deceived them. This requirement should preface the beginning of EVERY TV segment that airs on Fox, hour by hour, day by day, for 3-6 months."
.
Judge Limits Fox’s Options for Defense in Dominion Trial
Dan K. Webb, center, a lawyer representing Fox, told a judge that hosts would testify that they weren’t certain about the truth of the allegations but covered them because the former president and his lawyers said they could prove them.
A Delaware judge said Fox News could not argue newsworthiness to defend airing false claims, and limited how Dominion Voting Systems could refer to the Jan. 6 attack.
WILMINGTON, Del. — A judge ruled on Tuesday that Fox News could not argue that it broadcast false information about Dominion Voting Systems on the basis that the allegations were newsworthy, limiting a key line of defense for the network as it faces the beginning of a potentially costly defamation trial next week.
The judge, Eric M. Davis of Delaware Superior Court, also ruled that Dominion could not refer to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol except in very narrow circumstances, saying he did not want jurors to be prejudiced by events that weren’t relevant to the central question in the case: Did Fox air wild claims about Dominion’s purported involvement in a conspiracy to steal the 2020 presidential election from Donald J. Trump knowing that they were lies?
In the first of two days of pretrial hearings, Judge Davis set many of the parameters that will govern how the trial is run, including what kinds of arguments the 12-person jury can hear and what questions lawyers may ask during jury selection to weed out those they believe would not be impartial.
The hearing covered matters large and seemingly small, from the application of the First Amendment to how jurors may take notes.
Judge Davis said he would allow lawyers to ask potential jurors about their cable news viewing habits and whether they watched Fox News programs — or intentionally avoided them. He will not, however, permit questions about how someone voted.
In another ruling, the judge denied a motion from Dominion that sought to limit how Fox lawyers could invoke the First Amendment, leaving the network with some space to argue that the Constitution shields it from liability.
The lawsuit, in which Dominion is seeking $1.6 billion in damages, is teeing up a major test of the First Amendment and, depending on the outcome, could renew questions about whether defamation law adequately protects victims of misinformation campaigns.
While legal experts have said Dominion’s case is unusually strong, defamation suits are extremely difficult to win because the law essentially requires proof of the defendants’ state of mind. Dominion’s burden will be to convince a jury that people inside Fox acted with actual malice, meaning either that they knew the allegations they broadcast were false but did so anyway, or that they acted so recklessly they overlooked facts that would have proved them wrong.
Fox has argued that while it understood many of the claims made by its guests about Dominion were false, they were still worth covering as inherently newsworthy. Fox’s lawyers have taken the position that there is nothing more newsworthy than claims by a former president of the United States that an election wasn’t credible.
But Judge Davis disagreed.
“Just because someone is newsworthy doesn’t mean you can defame someone,” he said, referring to pro-Trump lawyers like Sidney Powell and Rudolph W. Giuliani, who appeared repeatedly on Fox News and Fox Business in the weeks after the 2020 election and linked Dominion to various conspiracy theories.
The judge admonished Fox’s lawyers, saying they cannot make the argument that the false statements about Dominion came from guests like Ms. Powell and not from Fox hosts. That argument is irrelevant, he said, because the fact remains that Fox is responsible as the broadcaster.
“It’s a publication issue, not a who-said-it issue,” he said.
Dan K. Webb, a lawyer representing Fox, explained that hosts would testify that they weren’t certain about the truth of the allegations but covered them because the former president and his lawyers said they could prove them.
“The hosts will say during that time period, 15, 20 days, they were careful not to repeat the allegation,” Mr. Webb said.
Judge Davis responded, “Just because they say it, doesn’t mean it’s true.”
It was not the only tense exchange between the judge and Fox lawyers on Tuesday. At one point, a lawyer for Dominion, Justin Nelson, informed Judge Davis that Fox had disclosed only within the last 48 hours that Rupert Murdoch, whose family controls the Fox media empire, had a larger role in Fox News than the company had initially let on.
By not acknowledging the extent of Mr. Murdoch’s responsibility for Fox News, the personal communications of his that Dominion could review were “significantly more limited,” Mr. Nelson said.
Judge Davis was not pleased. “This is a problem,” he said. “I need to feel comfortable that when you represent something to me that it’s true,” he added.
Fox has also made the argument that its actions were not defamatory because many hosts and guests said on the air that there was a lack of convincing evidence that suggested widespread voter fraud.
Judge Davis rejected this position, too.
“You can’t absolve yourself of defamation by merely putting somebody on at another time to say something different,” he said.
In asking for such a large settlement against Fox, Dominion has cited the death threats its employees have received. People have shown up outside its Denver headquarters armed and left voice mail messages threatening to blow up its offices.
Judge Davis on Tuesday limited how Dominion can refer to those threats in front of jurors, ruling that it may not mention specific content. He said he did not want to leave jurors with the impression that Fox was responsible for the actions of third parties.
The trial begins on Monday, with jury selection expected to wrap up by the end of this week.
Before Tuesday, the judge had already ruled that Dominion could compel several high-profile Fox executives and hosts to testify in person, including Mr. Murdoch; Suzanne Scott, the chief executive of Fox News Media; and the Fox News personalities Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro.
www.nytimes.com
.
Dan K. Webb, center, a lawyer representing Fox, told a judge that hosts would testify that they weren’t certain about the truth of the allegations but covered them because the former president and his lawyers said they could prove them.
A Delaware judge said Fox News could not argue newsworthiness to defend airing false claims, and limited how Dominion Voting Systems could refer to the Jan. 6 attack.
WILMINGTON, Del. — A judge ruled on Tuesday that Fox News could not argue that it broadcast false information about Dominion Voting Systems on the basis that the allegations were newsworthy, limiting a key line of defense for the network as it faces the beginning of a potentially costly defamation trial next week.
The judge, Eric M. Davis of Delaware Superior Court, also ruled that Dominion could not refer to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol except in very narrow circumstances, saying he did not want jurors to be prejudiced by events that weren’t relevant to the central question in the case: Did Fox air wild claims about Dominion’s purported involvement in a conspiracy to steal the 2020 presidential election from Donald J. Trump knowing that they were lies?
In the first of two days of pretrial hearings, Judge Davis set many of the parameters that will govern how the trial is run, including what kinds of arguments the 12-person jury can hear and what questions lawyers may ask during jury selection to weed out those they believe would not be impartial.
The hearing covered matters large and seemingly small, from the application of the First Amendment to how jurors may take notes.
Judge Davis said he would allow lawyers to ask potential jurors about their cable news viewing habits and whether they watched Fox News programs — or intentionally avoided them. He will not, however, permit questions about how someone voted.
In another ruling, the judge denied a motion from Dominion that sought to limit how Fox lawyers could invoke the First Amendment, leaving the network with some space to argue that the Constitution shields it from liability.
The lawsuit, in which Dominion is seeking $1.6 billion in damages, is teeing up a major test of the First Amendment and, depending on the outcome, could renew questions about whether defamation law adequately protects victims of misinformation campaigns.
While legal experts have said Dominion’s case is unusually strong, defamation suits are extremely difficult to win because the law essentially requires proof of the defendants’ state of mind. Dominion’s burden will be to convince a jury that people inside Fox acted with actual malice, meaning either that they knew the allegations they broadcast were false but did so anyway, or that they acted so recklessly they overlooked facts that would have proved them wrong.
Fox has argued that while it understood many of the claims made by its guests about Dominion were false, they were still worth covering as inherently newsworthy. Fox’s lawyers have taken the position that there is nothing more newsworthy than claims by a former president of the United States that an election wasn’t credible.
But Judge Davis disagreed.
“Just because someone is newsworthy doesn’t mean you can defame someone,” he said, referring to pro-Trump lawyers like Sidney Powell and Rudolph W. Giuliani, who appeared repeatedly on Fox News and Fox Business in the weeks after the 2020 election and linked Dominion to various conspiracy theories.
The judge admonished Fox’s lawyers, saying they cannot make the argument that the false statements about Dominion came from guests like Ms. Powell and not from Fox hosts. That argument is irrelevant, he said, because the fact remains that Fox is responsible as the broadcaster.
“It’s a publication issue, not a who-said-it issue,” he said.
Dan K. Webb, a lawyer representing Fox, explained that hosts would testify that they weren’t certain about the truth of the allegations but covered them because the former president and his lawyers said they could prove them.
“The hosts will say during that time period, 15, 20 days, they were careful not to repeat the allegation,” Mr. Webb said.
Judge Davis responded, “Just because they say it, doesn’t mean it’s true.”
It was not the only tense exchange between the judge and Fox lawyers on Tuesday. At one point, a lawyer for Dominion, Justin Nelson, informed Judge Davis that Fox had disclosed only within the last 48 hours that Rupert Murdoch, whose family controls the Fox media empire, had a larger role in Fox News than the company had initially let on.
By not acknowledging the extent of Mr. Murdoch’s responsibility for Fox News, the personal communications of his that Dominion could review were “significantly more limited,” Mr. Nelson said.
Judge Davis was not pleased. “This is a problem,” he said. “I need to feel comfortable that when you represent something to me that it’s true,” he added.
Fox has also made the argument that its actions were not defamatory because many hosts and guests said on the air that there was a lack of convincing evidence that suggested widespread voter fraud.
Judge Davis rejected this position, too.
“You can’t absolve yourself of defamation by merely putting somebody on at another time to say something different,” he said.
In asking for such a large settlement against Fox, Dominion has cited the death threats its employees have received. People have shown up outside its Denver headquarters armed and left voice mail messages threatening to blow up its offices.
Judge Davis on Tuesday limited how Dominion can refer to those threats in front of jurors, ruling that it may not mention specific content. He said he did not want to leave jurors with the impression that Fox was responsible for the actions of third parties.
The trial begins on Monday, with jury selection expected to wrap up by the end of this week.
Before Tuesday, the judge had already ruled that Dominion could compel several high-profile Fox executives and hosts to testify in person, including Mr. Murdoch; Suzanne Scott, the chief executive of Fox News Media; and the Fox News personalities Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro.
Judge Limits Fox’s Options for Defense in Dominion Trial
A Delaware judge said Fox News could not argue newsworthiness to defend airing false claims, and limited how Dominion Voting Systems could refer to the Jan. 6 attack.
Just for you, instead of an article coming from the NYT, I'll search for one from The Daily Bugle, with Peter Parker pictures
Fox News sanctioned for withholding evidence in Dominion defamation case
The judge is giving Dominion Voting Systems a chance to conduct another deposition, at Fox's expense.
Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis on Wednesday sanctioned Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corp., for withholding evidence in the Dominion defamation suit, and said he's considering further investigation and censure.
According to a person present in the courtroom, lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems played recordings Fox News producer Abby Grossberg made during 2020, which were not handed over to Dominion's lawyers during discovery.
Grossberg, a former producer for Fox hosts Maria Bartiromo and Tucker Carlson, has sued Fox News and said her deposition was coerced. In an amended filing Tuesday, she said she had recorded conversations with Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and others.
The sanction gives Dominion a chance to conduct another deposition, at Fox’s expense.
"As counsel explained to the Court, FOX produced the supplemental information from Ms. Grossberg when we first learned it," Fox News said in a statement Wednesday.
The surprise evidence and sanction comes days before the trial is scheduled to begin in the $1.6 billion defamation case Dominion Voting Systems filed against Fox News and Fox Corp. Davis also said Wednesday he was considering appointing a special master to investigate the Fox legal teams' actions.
On Tuesday, Davis expressed frustration at Fox News for not being straightforward about Rupert Murdoch's role as a leader at Fox News.
"This is a problem," Davis said, according to a court transcript. "I need to feel comfortable when you represent something to me that is the truth."
Fox News did not respond immediately to a request for comment on the sanction but said in a statement Tuesday, "Rupert Murdoch has been listed as executive chairman of FOX News in our SEC filings since 2019 and this filing was referenced by Dominion’s own attorney during his deposition."
Fox sanctioned for withholding evidence in Dominion case (nbcnews.com)
The judge is giving Dominion Voting Systems a chance to conduct another deposition, at Fox's expense.
Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis on Wednesday sanctioned Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corp., for withholding evidence in the Dominion defamation suit, and said he's considering further investigation and censure.
According to a person present in the courtroom, lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems played recordings Fox News producer Abby Grossberg made during 2020, which were not handed over to Dominion's lawyers during discovery.
Grossberg, a former producer for Fox hosts Maria Bartiromo and Tucker Carlson, has sued Fox News and said her deposition was coerced. In an amended filing Tuesday, she said she had recorded conversations with Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and others.
The sanction gives Dominion a chance to conduct another deposition, at Fox’s expense.
"As counsel explained to the Court, FOX produced the supplemental information from Ms. Grossberg when we first learned it," Fox News said in a statement Wednesday.
The surprise evidence and sanction comes days before the trial is scheduled to begin in the $1.6 billion defamation case Dominion Voting Systems filed against Fox News and Fox Corp. Davis also said Wednesday he was considering appointing a special master to investigate the Fox legal teams' actions.
On Tuesday, Davis expressed frustration at Fox News for not being straightforward about Rupert Murdoch's role as a leader at Fox News.
"This is a problem," Davis said, according to a court transcript. "I need to feel comfortable when you represent something to me that is the truth."
Fox News did not respond immediately to a request for comment on the sanction but said in a statement Tuesday, "Rupert Murdoch has been listed as executive chairman of FOX News in our SEC filings since 2019 and this filing was referenced by Dominion’s own attorney during his deposition."
Fox sanctioned for withholding evidence in Dominion case (nbcnews.com)
FOX Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch is expected to be called to the witness stand in the trial of Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against his company as soon as Monday, according to people familiar with the matter.
Jury selection in the case is set to begin Thursday in Delaware, with opening arguments set for Monday. Murdoch would be the second witness called, meaning he would likely testify on Monday or Tuesday, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the schedule of Dominion’s witnesses has not yet been made public. The first witness is likely to be an expert on the Constitution’s First Amendment who will explain defamation law to jurors, the people said.
Murdoch is likely to be grilled about Fox News’ oversight of hosts and guests who repeatedly made false claims that Dominion’s machines were engineered to steal votes from then-President Donald Trump and give them to Democratic challenger Joe Biden and the company was set up by foreign businessmen specifically to rig elections. In a pre-trial deposition, Murdoch acknowledged he didn’t believe Dominion “engaged in a massive and coordinated effort to steal the 2020 presidential election.”
Others from Fox slated to testify in the case include Murdoch’s son, Lachlan, Fox Corp.’s CEO, Fox News hosts Maria Bartiromo and Tucker Carlson and ex-host Lou Dobbs. The trial in Wilmington, Delaware, is slated to last six weeks.
Murdoch to Take Stand in Fox-Dominion Trial as Early as Monday
Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch is expected to be called to the witness stand in the trial of Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against his company as soon as Monday, according to people familiar with the matter.
www.bloomberg.com
Schadenfreude! Now FOX 'News' is being Sued by a wealthy Stockholder over ‘stolen election claims'
FOX ‘News” is facing a trial next week in it’s Dominion’s $1.6 Billion defamation suit, soon to be followed by an even larger $2.7 Billion suit against FOX ‘News’ by election company Smartmatic. Now a FOX ‘News’ investor is suing FOX over it’s election...
m.dailykos.com
Jury selection underway in Dominion's $1.6 billion defamation case against Fox News
The first day of jury selection in Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News concluded Thursday without officially seating a jury, but Judge Eric Davis said there are "more than enough jurors to start the trial" as planned on Monday.
In a change of schedule, the judge said jury selection will now resume on Monday morning, instead of Friday -- after which the jury will be sworn in on Monday and the case will go straight into opening statements.
Judge Davis also said he would increase the number of alternates seated for the trial from six up to 12, meaning there will now be 12 jurors and 12 alternates, citing concerns about the coronavirus pandemic and the length of the trial.
Questioning of the prospective jurors was conducted Thursday behind closed doors for approximately seven hours, which included a one-hour lunch break. The judge has said the process and jurors' names will remain sealed due to "concerns" over tampering, while noting the international attention the case has received.
"I need to make sure that the jury remains unaffected by this," he said.
Prospective jurors were asked about two dozen questions, according to the voir dire sheet that was circulated in the courtroom, including whether jurors knew of or had any opinion on anyone who may be called as possible witnesses in the case, including Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch, and hosts Sean Hannity, Maria Bartiromo and Tucker Carlson.
They were also asked if they "regularly watch" any Fox News programs or if they "avoid" them, and if that would affect their ability to be a fair and impartial juror in the case.
Dominion has accused the conservative network of knowingly pushing false conspiracy theories that the voting machine company had somehow rigged the 2020 presidential election in Joe Biden's favor, in what Dominion claims was an effort to combat concerns over declining ratings and viewer retention.
Fox has defended its coverage, dismissing the suit as a "political crusade in search of a financial windfall."
"While Dominion has pushed irrelevant and misleading information to generate headlines, FOX News remains steadfast in protecting the rights of a free press, given a verdict for Dominion and its private equity owners would have grave consequences for the entire journalism profession," Fox News said in a statement.
To win its case, Dominion will have to meet the heavy burden of proving "actual malice" -- showing that Fox News did not just broadcast false statements, but that they did so knowing they were false or with a "reckless disregard" for the truth.
"The standard for actual malice is pretty high," the Judge Davis has noted.
But as part of its case, Dominion has obtained a trove of internal private communications from some of Fox's biggest stars and executives, which appeared to show them privately expressing doubt over the election fraud claims -- despite what was stated on the airwaves. Dominion has said they hope the communications will, in part, help them reach that high bar.
"This case differs from nearly any defamation case before it," Dominion wrote in one of its filings, saying the "overwhelming direct evidence establishes Fox's knowledge of falsity."
CONTINUED:
Jury selection underway in Dominion's $1.6 billion defamation case against Fox News
Jury selection is underway in Dominion's $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox News, which Dominion claims defamed the voting machine company following the 2020 election.
What you need to know about the Dominion v. Fox News trial
The voting machine company was the subject of baseless conspiracies as Donald Trump and his allies relentlessly pushed the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
The trial in Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit against Fox News is set to begin Monday in a landmark defamation case that will determine whether the network can be held financially liable for publishing the false claim that voting machines rigged the 2020 election.
Dominion was the subject of conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 presidential race as then-President Donald Trump and his allies relentlessly pushed the lie that the election, which he legitimately lost to President Joe Biden, was stolen from him.
In a pretrial ruling, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis agreed with Dominion that the claims Fox News hosts and guests promoted about the voting machine company are false. That leaves Dominion to try to convince the jury that Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corp., acted with “actual malice” — knowing falsity or reckless disregard for the truth — when it aired the conspiracy theories.
Fox News has argued that the case is about the “First Amendment protections of the media’s absolute right to cover the news.”
Here's what you need to know.
What is Dominion Voting Systems, and why did it sue Fox News in the first place?
Dominion Voting Systems is a privately owned corporation that makes voting equipment used in 28 states across the U.S.Dominion argues in its complaint that Fox News defamed it when the network broadcast baseless claims that it was tied to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, that it paid kickbacks to politicians and that its machines “rigged” the 2020 presidential election by flipping millions of votes for Trump to Biden.
In 2021, the company sued seeking $1.6 billion in damages and challenging a number of claims made by hosts and guests on Fox News and Fox Business and by host Lou Dobbs on social media.
Is it just Fox News named in the lawsuit?
Not exactly. Dominion is suing Fox News Networks — which includes the namesake network and Fox Business — and Fox Corp., the more moneyed parent company.What is Fox's defense?
Fox News has argued that it was reporting on extraordinary claims of election fraud by Trump. In defending against the claims, Fox says that it is fighting to protect press freedoms and that the Constitution shields its work there.It has also argued that Dominion’s business wasn’t damaged.
“Dominion’s lawsuit is a political crusade in search of a financial windfall, but the real cost would be cherished First Amendment rights. While Dominion has pushed irrelevant and misleading information to generate headlines, FOX News remains steadfast in protecting the rights of a free press, given a verdict for Dominion and its private equity owners would have grave consequences for the entire journalism profession," a Fox News spokesperson said in a statement.
Fox's lawyers have also argued that Fox Corp. wasn't involved in publishing the claims and therefore isn't liable for the alleged defamation.
Will Dominion have to prove Fox's claims about it were wrong?
No. Dominion has already proven in court that the claims are baseless; Judge Davis ruled that he would instruct the jury that the claims are false.“The evidence developed in this civil proceeding demonstrates that is CRYSTAL clear that none of the Statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true,” Davis wrote in an earlier 81-page ruling allowing the case to proceed to trial, emphasizing the word “crystal.”
Why is the case important?
The case is a historic media law dispute with far-reaching implications. A victory for Fox News may fuel lawmakers’ efforts to limit the protections media outlets enjoy and would undoubtedly embolden people who want to broadcast false claims and conspiracy theories. A victory for Dominion could fuel copycat lawsuits. It would also be the first real apparent price paid for the stolen election lies Trump and his allies advanced.What’s the legal standard for defamation?
To prove Dominion was defamed, the company’s lawyers will need to prove that a damaging, false claim was published with actual malice — in other words, by a journalist who knew the claims were false or who recklessly disregarded the truth when they were published.Who's in the jury?
At the end of last week, Davis announced the court had identified enough eligible jurors to impanel a jury. Lawyers will be permitted to strike certain jurors from the pool before the panel of 12 jurors (and 12 alternates) is seated Monday. The court is then expected to take a short break before it returns to begin opening arguments.The jurors will remain anonymous, identified only by numbers.
How long will this trial go?
The trial is expected to last five to six weeks.Who will testify, and when?
The expected witness list includes a number of high-profile people, but when they might appear in court is an open question.Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch and former House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., are expected to testify after Davis said he’s willing to compel their testimony. Past and present Fox News talent, including Maria Bartiromo, Tucker Carlson, Lou Dobbs, Sean Hannity and Bret Baier, are on the lawyers’ witnesses list, as well.
Can I watch it on TV?
Nope. No cameras are allowed, which is the policy of the court. Davis denied a request Thursday by a coalition of media to record and broadcast audio excerpts of the trial, as well.“You’re getting the most access of any media in a Superior Court case in Delaware,” he said Thursday.
Why is the case being tried in Delaware?
Fox Corp., the television networks’ parent company, is incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware.Is it Dominion’s only lawsuit?
Nope. Dominion Voting Systems has brought a number of lawsuits against those it says defamed it after the 2020 election. So far, Dominion's lawyers have sued Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, as well as outlets Newsmax and One America News Network (OANN).Could the parties still settle? When would the verdict come?
A settlement is possible up until the point a verdict is rendered — which is likely to be just before Memorial Day weekend. All 12 jurors must agree unanimously to find Fox liable for defamation.
Jane C. Timm
What you need to know about the Dominion v. Fox News trial
The voting machine company was the subject of baseless conspiracies as Donald Trump and his allies relentlessly pushed the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
www.nbcnews.com