A jury trial is set to begin April 17 to determine if Fox News defamed Dominion Voting Systems by claiming the company rigged the 2020 elections. In late March, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis denied a judgment on the alleged defamation. However, he did rule that Fox’s claims about Dominion were false, stating, “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.”
Fox News had maintained its broadcasts were protected by the First Amendment. However, Davis barred the network from using some potential arguments, including “neutral report privilege,” “fair report privilege,” and “opinion privilege.”
This is a setback for Fox News after depositions and text messages exposed executives and hosts knew they were broadcasting false information.
For instance, much of that false information came from Trump attorney Sidney Powell. Powell had sent Fox host Maria Bartiromo an email with her source of the election fraud claims before their interview on Nov. 8. Bartiromo later testified that it was “nonsense” and “inherently unreliable.”
Fox News had tried to get Fox Corporation Chairman Rupert Murdoch excused from traveling to Delaware to testify in court. Davis, citing a letter that claimed it would be an inconvenience, said Murdoch was “hardly infirm.” The judge also pointed out that the 92-year-old was recently engaged and had travel plans to visit his various homes. Attorneys replied, saying Murdoch had already completed seven hours of deposition. Ultimately, Davis ruled that Murdoch could be compelled to testify.
According to Fox, the network’s Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Maria Bartiromo will be available to testify.
