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A person walks by a Fox News sign posted on the News Corporation building in New York City on April 12, 2023
Andrew Kelly | Reuters
WILMINGTON, Delaware — Opening arguments are set to begin Tuesday in a defamation lawsuit against Dominion Voting Systems accusing Fox News of spreading harmful lies that it rigged the 2020 election. is.
The civil case in Delaware Superior Court comes more than two years after Dominion, which sells voting machines and election software, first accused Fox of deliberately spreading lies about the company to boost its reputation.
The network “deliberately and falsely” accused the Dominion of ex-President Donald Trump’s loss to President Joe Biden by broadcasting unsubstantiated allegations, including that the Dominion interfered with voter turnout. , argued Dominion.
Fox claims its statements about Dominion on air are protected by the First Amendment, which protects free speech and the press. The network also argued that Dominion’s lawsuit did not substantiate the aired claims in “actual bad faith,” which is a requirement to meet the legal standard for defamation.
The extraordinary circumstances of the trial – most defamation cases are settled out of court and few promise first-hand testimony from a parade of famous media figures – along with ten-figure claims for damages, a cacophony of media hype However, it is not clear what effect the lawsuit will have on Fox’s reputation or earnings.
Dominion has also filed defamation lawsuits against former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, former campaign attorney Sidney Powell, Right Wing News Network and others. filed a defamation lawsuit seeking billions of dollars in damages.
But the lawsuit against Fox has gained a lot of attention in recent months. Especially after the public release of private messages and testimonials from top Fox News talent and executives, including Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch and opinion host Tucker Carlson.
The communication cast a scandalous shadow over the legal battle and revealed how Fox officials and other celebrities reacted behind the scenes to the events following the 2020 election. , which immediately contrasted several Fox personalities’ private remarks about election fraud allegations being aired at the same time.
The trial is expected to last up to 6 weeks. But with unexplained delays in the lawsuit and reports of behind-the-scenes negotiations between Fox and Dominion, it’s doubtful that the case will even go to trial.
Fox said Dominion had cut the damages claim from its original $1.6 billion, and Dominion’s holding company said “the damages claim remains.”
Parts of the lawsuit have already been decided: Judge Eric Davis ruled last month that the statements flagged by Dominion were indeed false. It very clearly shows that none of the Dominion-related statements regarding the election are true,” Davis wrote.
His ruling made it clear that jurors would determine who was responsible for publishing false claims and whether those people actually acted in bad faith. means proving that the allegation was knowingly false or made public in reckless disregard for the truth.
Preparations for the trial have already been marked with major twists that only heighten public interest.
A judge ruled earlier this month that Murdoch, 92, and his son, Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch, may be forced to testify in court. Other witnesses include Carlson, Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott, Sean Hannity and other top Fox television personalities.
Also, at a pretrial hearing last week, Davis sanctioned Fox and its parent company for withholding evidence from Dominion during discovery proceedings, NBC News reported.
According to NBC, a recording made by former Fox producer Abby Grossberg in 2020 of Giuliani and Fox host Maria Bartiromo allegedly talking about voting software was not turned over to Dominion. Grossberg sued the network last month, alleging it was coerced into giving misleading testimony in the Dominion case.
A Fox spokesperson said after the hearing that it “provided additional information from Mr. Grossberg when first made aware of it.”
This is developing news. Please check the latest information.
— Kevin Breuninger reported from Wilmington, Delaware. Lillian Rizzo reported from Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
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