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☆ Judge schedules Newsmax case over 2020 election lies for September trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A judge has scheduled a major defamation case against right-wing cable channel Newsmax to go to trial in late September, putting the battle over 2020 election lies front-and-center at the peak of the 2024 campaign. A trial could have significant implications for the First Amendment and how journalists cover Trump’s election lies. The conservative network doesn’t attract a large audience like Fox News, but Newsmax’s ratings surged after the 2020 election. In addition to the Newsmax case, Smartmatic is also suing Fox News, the fringe far-right cable channel OAN and Trump allies like Rudy Giuliani and Mike Lindell, who peddled the same election lies. But there were delays in that case, creating an opening for the Smartmatic case.

Persons: CNN —, Donald Trump’s, Smartmatic, Joe Biden, Eric Davis, Davis, Newsmax, “ Newsmax, … Newsmax, ’, Trump’s, ”, Bill Daddi, Christopher Ruddy, Fox, Eric Bolling, Greta Van Susteren, Sebastian Gorka, Clinton, Dick Morris, Trump, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Lindell Organizations: CNN, Dominion Voting Systems, Trump, Delaware Superior Court, Dominion, Fox News, Fox, Trump White House Locations: Delaware Superior

☆ Right-wing outlets facing 2020 election defamation lawsuits may have found a key defense overseas
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —An alleged bribery scheme in the Philippines has thrown a potential lifeline to Fox News and other right-wing media outlets that are battling massive defamation lawsuits from the voting technology company Smartmatic for their promotion of 2020 election lies. The overseas scandal washed ashore last year when the Justice Department charged the Philippines’ former election commissioner with money laundering. Since then, Fox News, Newsmax and OAN have seized on the allegations, attempting to obtain new documents about potential wrongdoing by Smartmatic that could boost their defense. None of the allegations levied by US prosecutors in court filings pertain to vote-flipping or alleged rigging of election results. Last year, Fox paid a historic $787 million settlement with another election technology company, Dominion Voting Systems, for its promotion of similar election lies.

Persons: CNN —, Smartmatic, Newsmax, Donald Trump, Andres Bautista, Bautista, Fox, Nicolas Maduro, —, Smartmatic “, ”, Trump, “ Smartmatic, ” OAN, Eric Davis, OAN, “, OAN –, ” Smartmatic, hasn’t Organizations: CNN, Fox News, Justice Department, Trump, OAN, Philippine, Smartmatic, Fox, Dominion Voting, Lawyers Locations: Philippines, California, Venezuela, Manila, Smartmatic, Miami, Delaware, Brazil, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Kenya, Oman, Switzerland, Taiwan

☆ Fox’s top lawyer blasts judge in Dominion case, says trial would’ve been ‘months of utter pain’
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Viet Dinh, former Chief Legal and Policy Officer for Fox Corporation. Dinh said Davis issued “really illogical” rulings in the pretrial phase, which “hamstrung” Fox’s defense strategy. This artist sketch depicts Judge Eric Davis of Delaware Superior Court on the bench Monday, April 17, 2023, in Wilmington, Delaware. Elizabeth Williams/APThe judge ruled that none of Fox’s on-air statements about Dominion were true and rejected Fox’s attempts to throw the case out. Dominion made many of these messages public through court filings, and they painted an incredibly damning picture of Fox News.

Persons: CNN —, Viet Dinh, Eric Davis, ” Dinh, –, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Fox, Dinh, Davis, ”, Eric Davis of, Elizabeth Williams, Fox’s, Tucker Carlson, “ Organizations: CNN, Fox, Dominion Voting Systems, Fox Corporation, Delaware, Harvard Law, ” Dominion, Fox News, Eric Davis of Delaware Superior Court, Dominion, Harvard Locations: Viet, Delaware, Wilmington , Delaware, Smartmatic

But the challenge facing Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee in Georgia is unlike any of the others. For one, he is the only judge so far to allow television cameras in the courtroom to broadcast hearings and any trials. And the trials will play out in a battleground state that Trump narrowly lost in 2020. But the experience of some judges who have been thrust into the public eye point to potential pitfalls and dangers ahead for the 34-year-old Georgia native. “Hopefully, you have a life outside the law,” Cahill said during his talk in Reno about handling high-profile cases.

Persons: Peter Cahill, Derek Chauvin, George Floyd, you’re, ”, Donald Trump, Scott McAfee, Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, McAfee, Aileen Cannon, Reggie Walton, Lewis ” Scooter, Libby, Dick Cheney, Roger Clemens, “, Lance Ito, Simpson, Critics, Jay Leno ”, Elizabeth Scherer, Nikolas Cruz, Cruz, Scherer, Eric Davis, Tanya Chutkan, Ito, Judy, he's, Han Chung, Chung, Trump's, E, Susan Garsh, Aaron Hernandez, ” Garsh, Fani Willis, Trump, Willis, — Chutkan, Barack Obama, Juan Manuel Merchan, Merchan, Chutkan, Brian Kemp, Kemp, ” Cahill Organizations: ATLANTA, Minnesota, National Judicial College, New York, Trump White House, Trump, Georgia, Senior, Associated Press, Los Angeles Superior, Delaware, Systems, Fox News, American Bar Association, U.S, New Yorker, McAfee, Massachusetts, New England Patriots, AP, Patriots, University of Georgia, Republican, Federalist Society, Emory University, Georgia Aquarium Locations: Minneapolis, Reno , Nevada, Fulton, Georgia, U.S, Florida, Los, Parkland, Washington, Fulton County, Gwinnett County, Reno

☆ Dominion’s $1.6 billion defamation suit against Newsmax over election lies set for September 2024 trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Newsmax over the right-wing network’s airing of 2020 election lies is scheduled to go to trial in late September 2024, a Delaware judge decided. The decision by Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis means — barring an out-of-court settlement — Trump’s lies about the 2020 election will be front and center at a four-week trial during the closing weeks of the 2024 election. Davis presided over a similar high-profile defamation case brought by Dominion against Fox News over the network’s airing of election lies. The case ended in April with a last-second $787 million settlement, the largest publicly known defamation settlement in US history. Newsmax is also facing a massive defamation suit from Smartmatic, another voting technology company that was accused by right-wing figures of rigging the 2020 election.

Persons: Newsmax, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Eric Davis, Davis, Dominion “, Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Lindell, Patrick Byrne, Trump, “ Organizations: CNN, Dominion, Delaware, Fox News, Newsmax, Trump Locations: Delaware, Biden’s

☆ Fox says it settled Dominion lawsuit to ‘buy peace,’ as it tries to block release of more material in the case
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Fox said in a court filing Wednesday that it settled the monster defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million to “buy peace,” and strongly opposed motions to unseal additional redacted material in the case. “It would create profoundly perverse incentives the next time parties are encouraged to settle a high-profile trial,” Mowery added. Fox has redacted significant swaths of the material, which news outlets have objected to. Days after Fox settled the lawsuit with Dominion, the company fired its star prime time host, the right-wing extremist Tucker Carlson. “It was three against one, at least,” Carlson wrote in the hours after the Jan. 6 attack.

[1/3] Dominion lawyers embrace after Dominion Voting Systems and Fox settled the defamation lawsuit over Fox's coverage of debunked election-rigging claims, in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., April 18, 2023. At least 31 lawyers from nine different law firms worked on the case, court filings show. It was not immediately clear how large a share of the settlement the firm would receive in legal fees. The filings do not include recent costs associated with preparing for trial or the success fees lawyers could earn from the settlement. Fox News also hired Paul Clement and Erin Murphy, top appeals court lawyers who have advocated for conservative causes at the U.S. Supreme Court.

☆ Opinion | Did Fox News Just Pay for the Privilege of Continued Corruption?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( David French | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

The settlement reflects Fox’s abandonment of even the most minimal journalistic standards. The headline stated that “Fox News Media, Dominion Voting Systems reach agreement over defamation lawsuit,” but it didn’t state the amount of the settlement and instead mainly focused on the judge’s compliments of Fox’s legal team. Some of them, including members of his legal team, made false and unsubstantiated claims against Dominion Voting Systems and are the subject of separate defamation lawsuits. In the meantime, many of the viewers who keep the company so very profitable won’t know anything meaningful about the Dominion settlement or Fox’s lies — because Fox won’t tell them. While this newsletter is admittedly rather bleak even in the face of Fox’s decisive court defeat, the story is far from over.

"Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion that caused enormous damage to my company, our employees and our customers," Poulos said in a statement. Fox anchor Neil Cavuto broke into his news show "Your World" about 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to report the settlement. In February court filings, Dominion cited a trove of internal communications in which Murdoch and other Fox figures privately acknowledged that the vote-rigging claims made about Dominion on-air were false. Dominion said Fox amplified the untrue claims to boost its ratings and prevent its viewers from migrating to other media competitors on the right. ANOTHER LAWSUIT PENDINGAdding to the legal risks for Fox, another U.S. voting technology company, Smartmatic, is pursuing its own defamation lawsuit seeking $2.7 billion in damages in a New York state court.

☆ What’s next for Fox and Dominion? More lawsuits seeking accountability for corrosive 2020 election lies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Wilmington, Delaware CNN —Dominion Voting Systems’ blockbuster defamation case against Fox News is over after the right-wing network cuts a check for a staggering $787 million, but there’s still an avalanche of pending lawsuits that are seeking accountability from the right-wing figures who championed false claims about the 2020 election. Smartmatic, another voting technology company, sued Fox for defamation following the 2020 election and is seeking $2.7 billion in damages from Fox and other defendants. Dominion still has a bevy of pending lawsuits against 2020 election deniers. “All of those decisions will have a huge bearing on those lawsuits as they play out,” Dominion lawyer Davida Brook told CNN Tuesday night. Dominion lawyer Justin Nelson added in a CNN interview that the Fox News settlement “sends a message to the other seven lawsuits that accountability is coming.”

The voice on the other end asked Roscoe if he would serve as an eleventh-hour mediator in the massive defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News. “I said yes,” Roscoe told CNN on Wednesday, recalling advice his father gave him at the age of 16 about accepting work assignments while on vacation. Eduardo Munoz/Reuters/Eric Lee/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesIn the lead up to the last-second deal, attorneys for both Fox News and Dominion were fully expecting a trial. Last week, Dominion had notified Fox News that one of its first witnesses would be Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old Fox Corporation chairman, a person familiar with the matter told CNN. “Presence in the courtroom often tends to crystalize the focus of the risks and benefits of litigation,” Roscoe told CNN.

"Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion that caused enormous damage to my company, our employees and our customers," Poulos said in a statement. Shares of Fox Corp closed up slightly at $34 per share, but were down 1% in after-hours trading after the settlement amount was disclosed. Fox Corp CEO Lachlan Murdoch told Wall Street analysts in February that the company had about $4 billion cash on hand. [1/5] Dominion CEO John Poulos and lawyers speak to the media after Dominion Voting Systems and Fox settled a defamation lawsuit for $787.5 million, avoiding trial, over Fox's coverage of debunked election-rigging claims, in Delaware Superior Court, in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. April 18, 2023. Fox Corp reported nearly $14 billion in annual revenue last year.

November 15, 2020 -- Fox’s daytime average audience reaches a 35% decline since the eve of the election, according to statistics cited in Dominion's lawsuit. March 26, 2021 -- Dominion sues Fox News in Delaware Superior Court. March 31, 2023 -- Davis rules that the statements aired on Fox were false, defamatory and not covered by legal protections for the press under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. April 12, 2023 -- Davis sanctions Fox after it was revealed that the network failed to turn over relevant recordings and transcripts until the eve of trial. April 16, 2023 -- Davis delays trial by one day without giving a reason, but two sources told Reuters that Fox and Dominion were holding last-minute settlement talks.

A person walks by Fox News signage posted on the News Corporation building in New York City, April 12, 2023WILMINGTON, Del. — Opening arguments were delayed Tuesday in the Dominion Voting Systems' defamation lawsuit accusing Fox News of spreading the damaging falsehood that the company rigged the 2020 election. The person, a Fox News representative, was forced to delete the photos and permanently exit the courtroom. The Fox representative misunderstood the courtroom rules and apologized, adding that the pictures were deleted immediately, the company told CNBC. I'm not going to give you an extra day," Davis told attorneys for both camps.

A Fox victory — after it limped into trial amid a series of legal setbacks — would be a major triumph for the network. “In the coming weeks, we will prove Fox spread lies causing enormous damage to Dominion. We look forward to trial,” a Dominion spokesperson said in a statement on the eve of trial. Pretrial dramaThus far, Fox News has faced an uphill battle in court, as the case careened toward trial. The outcome of the trial, however, is not likely to dramatically change the dishonest way in which Fox News operates.

☆ Fox News settles with Dominion, averting defamation trial over its 2020 election lies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Wilmington, Delaware CNN —The judge just announced in court that a settlement has been reached in the historic defamation case between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems. “The parties have resolved their case,” Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said. By settling with Dominion, influential Fox News executives and prominent on-air personalities will be spared from testifying about their 2020 election coverage, which was filled with lies about voter fraud. They denied Dominion’s claim that they promoted these election conspiracies to save their falling ratings after the 2020 election. While the Dominion case is now over, Fox News is still facing a second major defamation lawsuit from Smartmatic, another voting technology company that was smeared on Fox shows after the 2020 election.

A person walks past Fox News Headquarters at the News Corporation building on May 03, 2022 in New York City. - Fox Corp. and its cable networks agreed Tuesday to pay $787.5 million to Dominion Voting Systems to settle a defamation lawsuit over false claims that Dominion's machines swayed the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. The suit by Dominion, which sells voting machines and election software, had argued that Fox News and its sister network Fox Business "intentionally and falsely" blamed Dominion for the 2020 loss of former President Donald Trump to President Joe Biden by airing unsubstantiated claims about the company. Fox had said in court filings that its hosts' statements about Dominion were protected by the First Amendment. The company also said Dominion had not shown that the statements were made with so-called actual malice, which is the threshold for civil defamation claims.

A Delaware judge delayed the start of the widely anticipated trial on a voting-machine company’s defamation claims against Fox News, an announcement that came as the network is looking for a possible way to settle the case. Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said late Sunday that he was delaying the start of the trial by one day, moving it from Monday to Tuesday. He didn’t explain the reasons for the move.

The source, who was not authorized to speak publicly, told Reuters that Fox was seeking a possible settlement. The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal also reported that Fox was pursuing settlement talks, citing sources. Dominion is suing Fox Corp (FOXA.O) and Fox News in a defamation lawsuit over the network's coverage of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Davis on Wednesday sanctioned Fox News, handing Dominion a fresh chance to gather evidence after Fox withheld records until the eve of the trial. An expert report commissioned by Dominion attributed scores of lost contracts to Fox's coverage, though much of the report remains under seal.

April 16 (Reuters) - A judge in Delaware on Sunday delayed by one day the start of trial in a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox Corp (FOXA.O), a courthouse spokesperson said. "The Court has decided to continue the start of the trial, including jury selection, until Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. I will make such an announcement tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. in Courtroom 7E," said Judge Eric Davis, according to the statement. Davis had said on Thursday he expected to conclude jury selection on Monday and proceed to opening statements. The trial is one of the most closely watched U.S. defamation cases in years, involving a leading cable news outlet with numerous conservative commentators.

☆ Fox News defamation trial will begin Tuesday, judge says, without explaining one-day delay
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said Monday that the delay in the Fox-Dominion defamation trial “is not unusual” and told the parties that he expects them back on Tuesday to finish jury selection and start the trial. “I made the decision to delay the start of the trial until tomorrow,” Davis said in court, later adding that “it’s a six-week trial. The high-stakes defamation trial against Fox News, initially set to begin with opening statements on Monday, was abruptly delayed on Sunday evening, in an eleventh-hour twist. What to know about the high-stakes trialThe historic defamation lawsuit brought against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems could have significant ramifications for the right-wing cable channel. But in a major blow to the right-wing network last month, the judge overseeing the case allowed it to go to trial.

☆ Dominion defamation trial against Fox to proceed Tuesday after delay
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Helen Coster | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Dominion sued Fox Corp and Fox News. Rupert Murdoch, the chair of Fox Corp, is set to testify during the trial, along with a parade of Fox executives and on-air hosts, including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro. Fox's filing cited a Friday email from a Dominion lawyer saying that Dominion would not pursue its lost profit claim at the trial. Davis on Wednesday sanctioned Fox News, handing Dominion a fresh chance to gather evidence after Fox withheld records until the eve of the trial. Fox has also said that Dominion cannot pin actual malice on the individuals Dominion has said were responsible for the defamatory statements.

Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6 billion civil defamation lawsuit against Fox News has been delayed on the eve of its scheduled start date, an official for the court hearing the case said Sunday. Spokespeople for Fox and Dominion did not immediately provide statements when asked for comment after the delay was announced Sunday night. Fox has argued that Dominion has not met the legal standard for defamation, and that the statements made about Dominion on its air were protected by the First Amendment. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier Sunday evening that Fox has made a last-minute push to settle the lawsuit out of court. But as recently as Saturday, the possibility of Dominion and Fox avoiding trial seemed as unlikely as ever.

Fox has said Dominion cannot prove that the network knowingly spread falsehoods or recklessly disregarded the truth, the legal standard of "actual malice" that plaintiffs in defamation lawsuits must meet. Fox is now largely limited to arguing that Dominion cannot prove actual malice. Fox has called Dominion's lawsuit an assault on the free press and framed its stance in the case as a defense of journalism and diversity of ideas in the public square. Fox has attacked the credibility of Dominion's damages estimate, saying it is based upon unrealistic growth projections and faulty assumptions. An expert report commissioned by the company attributed scores of lost contracts to Fox's coverage, though much of the report remains under seal.

A Delaware judge delayed the start of the eagerly anticipated trial on a voting-machine company’s defamation claims against Fox News, an announcement that came as the network is looking for a possible way to settle the case. Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said late Sunday that he was delaying the start of the trial by one day, moving it from Monday to Tuesday. He didn’t explain the reasons for the move.

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