Fox News Network’s defamation suit from hell somehow just got worse for the company. A legal filing made public Monday from plaintiff Dominion Voting Systems spotlights statements from higher-ups, including Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, that suggest the network knowingly aired false claims of a stolen election.
As MSNBC legal analyst Harry Litman told Nicolle on Monday, Murdoch is the “star” of Dominion’s latest filing — what Litman called a “killer document” — in its $1.6 billion defamation suit.
"This is a really killer document… There's no chance the summary judgement here is likely going to trial April 17th, likely going to a verdict, if there's not a settlement, in favor of Dominion, and then it'll come down to damages" – @harrylitman w/ @NicolleDWallace pic.twitter.com/ojf8fXh0BI
— Deadline White House (@DeadlineWH) February 28, 2023
Among other potentially damning evidence, Murdoch conceded in deposition testimony that Fox News personalities “endorsed” the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump. It further quotes Murdoch saying that he could have stopped Fox News from continuing to bring former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani on air to lie about Dominion, “But I didn’t.”
Of the business decision to give a platform to conspiracy theorist (and MyPillow CEO) Mike Lindell, “Murdoch agreed that ‘It is not red or blue, it is green,’” according to Dominion’s filing, suggesting network decisions are driven by money rather than politics. Dominion citied Murdoch’s statements in opposition to Fox News’ and Fox Corp.’s summary judgment motions. That is, Fox wants Dominion’s suit tossed out before the trial that’s set for April. While understandable that anyone being sued would want that, it’s unlikely to happen here. (Fox News has denied any wrongdoing and is vigorously contesting the lawsuit.)
As I noted earlier this month in connection with Dominion’s previous bombshell filing, plaintiffs have a high bar when bringing defamation suits in these situations. To prove “actual malice,” they need to show that the defendants knew the truth or recklessly disregarded it while publishing falsehoods. What makes Dominion’s suit unusual is the degree of evidence it has amassed against Fox News that could help the voting company clear that high hurdle against the network for pushing conspiracy theories that Dominion machines were somehow used to steal the election from Trump. Though the ultimate outcome of the case that’s proceeding in Delaware state court remains uncertain, this latest filing is filled with evidence that Fox should fear a jury seeing at a trial — if the case gets that far. Read the filing here:
Jordan Rubin is the Deadline: Legal Blog writer. He was a prosecutor for the New York County District Attorney’s Office in Manhattan and is the author of “Bizarro," a book about the secret war on synthetic drugs. Before he joined MS NOW, he was a legal reporter for Bloomberg Law.
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