Judge to decide if Dominion libel case against Fox News goes to trial
After Tuesday’s hearing, if Judge Eric M. Davis denies both motions for summary judgment – one from Dominion Voting systems in its $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News and the other from Fox to dismiss lawsuit – the case will go to court in April.
The Denver e-voting hardware and software company sued Fox News and its parent company Fox Corporation for defamation in 2021. Dominion alleges that Fox News staff promoted false claims that Dominion changed votes after the 2020 election and that they gave guests a platform to make inaccurate and slanderous statements, even though they knew the claims were false and they did so in order to Don’t alienate your conservative audience.
In its response letter, filed ahead of Tuesday’s hearing, Fox News said that “as long as the press makes it clear that the allegations are just allegations, they can express their opinion that the allegations are ‘credible’ and meritorious.” investigation (as some Fox News anchors and other networks have done), just as they are free to voice their opinion that the allegations are untrue (as other Fox News anchors and other networks have done).”
Fox News defends its coverage, arguing that the network was simply covering statements made by the then president and his legal team that were newsworthy in their own right.
“Instead, Dominion is promoting the radical position that it doesn’t matter if the allegations were accurately presented as allegations, or even if they were presented as false allegations,” Fox News lawyers wrote. “According to the Dominion, simply repeating them, or allowing the president’s lawyers to formulate them, makes the press as responsible as those who make accusations.”
Fox lawyers continue to argue in a statement that if Dominion’s goal is to hold the network accountable for repeating the Trump camp’s claims, then they should file that lawsuit against every news outlet that also reported on the former president’s allegations.
Lawyers for Dominion dispute this point: “Media companies can always report the truth, including reporting false claims, explaining that the allegations are false, and Dominion did not sue many media companies that did just that in 2020.”
The threshold that Dominion must meet in this case is high because it must prove that Fox acted with “real malice”, meaning that Dominion must show that the network knew the claims were false or acted with reckless disregard for whether they were false or not. perpetuating allegations of fraud. Dominion lawyers note that 19 of the 20 broadcasts in question occurred after Dominion sent “Get it Right” memos to Fox.
“Some shows stopped airing the accusations because they knew they would have to ‘tell the truth’ if they did,” Dominion wrote. As an example, they point to Fox News anchor Laura Ingram, who stated in her testimony that by November 12, she “made a decision not to air the false accusations of Dominion.” The company notes that it has never made a public statement about their lies in front of their audience.
The facts in the case show that some of Fox News’ top executives harbored misgivings about what was being said on the network after the 2020 election and even after President Biden’s inauguration. The hosts, including Tucker Carlson and Ingram, also raised concerns about guests alleging voter fraud, according to court records.
On Monday, a Fox News producer who worked for hosts Maria Bartiromo and Tucker Carlson filed a couple lawsuits against the network on Monday, alleging that her legal team “coerced” her into making misleading statements in an ongoing defamation case and accusing Fox News of creating a “toxic” work environment.
Lawyers for the cable news giant, in a countersuit uncovered in February, argued that the lawsuit was an infringement of the First Amendment. Fox stated that the Dominion had put forth “new slander theories” and was looking for a “staggering” damage figure.
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