How elections lied, defamation laws key to Fox defamation suit | Entertainment

The settlement avoids a trial that could shed further light on former President Donald Trump’s election lies, shed more light on how right-leaning networks operate and even redefine defamation laws in the United States. Here is some information about the case.

Dominion Voting Systems is suing Fox for $1.6 billion, alleging that the news outlet knowingly made false allegations in multiple 2020 publications that the company’s voting machines were rigged against Trump. Fox argued that it was reporting newsworthy allegations made by supporters of the Republican president. The network said it was legally backed by defamation standards.

The judge hearing the case announced that the two sides had settled the matter on Tuesday, when opening arguments were scheduled to begin. Fox did not disclose the terms of the settlement, but Dominion said the deal was valued at $787.5 million.

Denver-based Dominion offered evidence that prominent Fox figures did not believe the fraud allegations, even as the network gave Trump allies airtime to repeat them. Multiple staffers texted and emailed in disbelief as Trump seized on increasingly flimsy voter fraud allegations. Fox’s Sean Hannity said in a deposition that he didn’t believe the fraud allegations “for a second,” but wanted to give the accusers a chance to give evidence.

Fox founder Rupert Murdoch, questioned under oath, agreed that the 2020 election, won by Democrat Joe Biden, was free and fair: “The election was not stolen,” he said. Murdoch even wrote a letter to an executive on Jan. 5, 2021, urging prominent Fox figures to issue a statement acknowledging Biden’s legitimate victory. Meanwhile, Murdoch has acknowledged that Fox hosts such as Lou Dobbs and Jeanine Pirro have sometimes backed bogus election fraud allegations.

Court documents indicate that Fox expressed deep concern over the fallout from its election night call, which said Biden defeated Trump in the battleground state of Arizona — and that call was accurate. Fox snatched away the competitor on the conference call, but that angered Trump and many Fox viewers, who expressed their outrage and tuned in to rival conservative outlets like Newsmax. Emails and memos released in the case show that while Newsmax was gaining viewers, Fox executives were highly aware of their network’s declining ratings, a dynamic that executives saw as a potential threat.

In defense, Fox invoked principles of defamation law that have existed since a 1964 U.S. Supreme Court decision. The doctrine makes it difficult for some plaintiffs to prove news media defamation. In this case, the public figure and Dominion meet that standard, not only having to prove that the information reported was incorrect, but that the news organization had “reckless disregard” for the truth of the information.

Some First Amendment supporters say voting machine companies have a strong case. But they worry that the protracted legal battle will give the Supreme Court the opportunity to change libel laws and weaken protections for all media.

Preparing for the trial has been tough for Fox, and not just because the public has seen such private conversations as primetime host Tucker Carlson said he hated Trump “very much.” The trial judge blamed the network for revealing Murdoch’s role on Fox News at the 11th hour, as well as some evidence involving Fox business host Maria Bartiromo, including recordings of her off-camera conversations with Trump’s lawyers .

Fox’s lawyer later apologized to the judge over the Murdoch affair, saying it was a misunderstanding and no deception was intended. Meanwhile, Fox has won a number of legal battles over limiting what jurors can hear, including a ruling banning testimony about the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot.

Judging from his social media posts, Trump is very interested in the case. Always concerned about loyalty and harboring a grudge against the Arizona call, he expressed anger that many at Fox not only did not support his fraud allegations but privately disdained the situation. Trump has stepped up his criticism of Fox as the 2024 Republican presidential race heats up, but he recently gave interviews to Carlson and Hannity.

An exhaustive scrutiny by federal and state election officials, the battleground states Trump contested, and Trump’s attorneys general failed to uncover widespread fraud that could alter the outcome of the 2020 election. They also found no credible evidence that the vote had been tainted. Trump’s fraud charges have also been thrown out across the board by dozens of courts, including judges he appointed.