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☆ 16 takeaways from Fox News' historic $787.5 million settlement with Dominion
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

In the moments after I watched the judge announce the settlement in court, 16 things went through my mind:1. Evidence obtained by Dominion in the lawsuit and filed to court ahead of the settlement appeared to support that theory. There's always the Smartmatic case. In court filings ahead of the settlement, Fox complained about the $1.6 billion price tag Dominion put on the lawsuit. "Would be pretty unreal if you guys like 20x'ed your Dominion investment with these lawsuits," read one text to a Staple Street executive cited in a Fox court filing.

"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.

Members of the public wait to enter the Leonard Williams Justice Center where the Dominion Voting Systems defamation trial against FOX News is taking place on April 18 in Wilmington, Delaware. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images)The court is back in session after a lunch break and opening statements are expected to begin soon in the historic defamation lawsuit brought by election technology company Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News. Here’s what you need to know about the high-stakes case:Why is Dominion suing Fox News? The company alleges that people at Fox News acted with actual malice and "recklessly disregarded the truth" when they spread this disinformation about Dominion. According to Dominion’s theory of the case, Fox promoted these election conspiracy theories because "the lies were good for Fox’s business."

☆ Dominion wasn't here to save democracy — it just wanted money from Fox News
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Fox News detractors wanted Dominion's lawsuit against Fox News to move forward for democracy's sake. "PLEASE Dominion --- Do not settle with Fox! The election technology company filed a civil defamation lawsuit against Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corporation, and asked for $1.6 billion. But just because Fox settled Dominion's lawsuit doesn't mean it's now free of legal risk. "Smartmatic remains committed to clearing its name, recouping the significant damage done to the company, and holding Fox accountable for undermining democracy."

☆ Fox News pushes Dominion to settle mammoth defamation lawsuit as judge delays trial, multiple sources report
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Fox is pushing Dominion to settle its $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit, WSJ and Reuters report. Fox made a last-minute attempt to settle the case out of court, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation. A spokesperson for Fox Corp., the parent company of Fox News, declined to comment to Insider on the record. Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch and Chairman Rupert Murdoch. Adrian Edwards/GC ImagesIn his own messages and depositions, Fox Corp.

☆ What to know ahead of the Fox News and Dominion trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —A trial in a defamation suit brought against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems is set to begin this week. Here are 5 things to know ahead of the trial. Fox was trying to block Dominion from having the Murdochs on the witness stand. Fox Corporation, the right-wing news outlet’s owner, has an estimated $4 billion in cash on hand, according to its latest earnings statement. Though major figures at Fox privately acknowledged reality – that former President Donald Trump had lost to President Joe Biden in 2020 – Fox continued to air conspiracies and lies in order to keep its large audience engaged.

Wilmington, Delaware CNN —Dominion Voting Systems’ high-stakes defamation trial against Fox News, which was supposed to begin Monday, was abruptly delayed on Sunday evening, in a stunning eleventh-hour twist that threw into question whether a settlement was in the works. Opening statements were expected on Monday, but the Delaware Superior Court said in a surprise announcement that “the start of the trial” will now be Tuesday. “The Court has decided to continue the start of the trial, including jury selection, until Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. Neither Dominion nor Fox commented on the delay Sunday. It says it was defamed by the right-wing network when Fox hosts and guests claimed in 2020 that its voting systems illegally rigged the election against Donald Trump.

☆ Dominion’s case against Fox News goes to trial next week. Is the First Amendment really on the line?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +21 min

But even by the standards of the profession, the language in Dominion's $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox News has been downright apocalyptic. A victory for Dominion against Fox, they say, could wreak havoc for other journalism organizations across the country. The sheer closeness between Trump and Fox News makes a case like this unlikely to harm journalism organizations down the line, Goodale said. The vast majority of defamation cases against media organizations are settled, which gives few high-profile precedents to the Dominion lawsuit. "And that's the balance that the Sullivan court strike tried to strike in 1964.

☆ Fox mogul Rupert Murdoch survived the phone-hacking scandal. Dominion's $1.6 billion lawsuit will test whether he can do it again.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

Now, two voting-technology companies, Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic, want to make another Murdoch media property pay even more for Fox News's role in spreading election denial. But the phone-hacking scandal showed how Murdoch has weathered challenges to his power before. Another key difference from the phone-hacking scandal is the presence of written records that show Fox execs knew exactly what was going on. In the last quarter of 2022, Fox Corp. netted $321 million on $4.6 billion in revenue. And during the phone-hacking scandal, Murdoch showed fierce loyalty.

Fox has argued that Dominion cherry-picked evidence to mischaracterize the network's coverage decisions, which it said were reasonable because election-rigging claims by the president's lawyers were inherently newsworthy. Fox has said it also gave Dominion's side of the story by airing its denials. The Fox Corp chairman is set to take the witness stand, along with other executives including Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott. The trial is also due to include testimony from a parade of conservative-leaning Fox hosts including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro. Fox has attacked the credibility of Dominion's damages estimate, saying it is based upon unrealistic growth projections and faulty assumptions.

☆ Fox News is about to enter the true No Spin Zone
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Good progress was made and the presiding judge noted that there were “more than enough jurors” to start the trial as scheduled on Monday. I’ve watched thousands and thousands of hours of the right-wing channel’s programming. Fox News is about to enter the true No Spin Zone, where deception is strictly prohibited. The case hasn’t even started and the presiding judge has already lost his patience with Fox’s legal team and put them on notice. But if they play out like the last few weeks of court have, Fox News is in for a brutal ride.

☆ Abby Grossberg, ex-Fox News producer, escalates lawsuit against network, adds CEO Suzanne Scott as defendant
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

In explosive lawsuits filed last month, Abby Grossberg claimed Fox lawyers bullied her into protecting the network and its on-air personalities in her deposition for the Dominion Voting Systems’ case. Grossberg now accuses Scott of being complicit in the alleged coercion, according to her amended lawsuit. The network fired Grossberg after she initiated the litigation. The topic of potentially missing or withheld evidence is looming large over the Dominion case. Dominion has said that it plans to call Grossberg as a witness as part of its case against Fox News.

☆ Dominion urges judge to compel Murdochs to testify live in Fox trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Dominion Voting Systems urged a Delaware judge to compel Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, and his son, Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch, to appear live in court during the upcoming trial over its $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox and its networks. In a letter to Judge Eric Davis on Wednesday, Dominion urged the judge to compel both Murdochs to appear live. In earlier court papers Dominion did not included the Murdochs on its list for live testimony, although it had been earlier discussed in court. Fox had opposed Murdoch, as well as the other Fox Corp. executives, giving their testimony live in court. They had also pointed to the elder Murdoch's age, 92, as a reason for why he couldn't appear live in court.

CNN —Fox News said in a court filing Tuesday that it plans to put some of its most prominent executives and TV hosts on the witness stand to testify as part of its defense in the Dominion defamation trial. Fox will call these witnesses as part of their defense, but Dominion also wants to question them as part of their case. The list includes Fox TV hosts Tucker Carlson, Maria Bartiromo, Sean Hannity, and Bret Baier, as well as Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott and President Jay Wallace. Last week, a Delaware judge ruled that Dominion Voting Systems’ case against Fox News will go to jury trial in mid-April. Both Fox News and Dominion had previously asked the judge to declare them the outright winner without a trial.

☆ Judge rejects Fox motions, allows Dominion's $1.6 billion defamation suit to go to trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

A Delaware judge on Friday said Dominion Voting's $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox Corp. and its networks could go to trial in April. Judge Eric Davis of Delaware's Superior Court rejected Fox's arguments that it should bypass a trial since it's protected by the First Amendment. We look forward to going to trial," Dominion said late Friday afternoon. The former president, who was indicted Thursday in an unrelated criminal matter, has repeatedly made false claims about the election being rigged against him. The depositions of both Murdochs, as well as other Fox Corp. executives, are to be included in the trial, too.

Bad for business.”The email to Cooper was revealed as part of Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News. Dominion Voting SystemsIn earlier court filings, the data about the Fox Nation subscriptions had been redacted. The messages underscore the panic that gripped Fox News in the wake of the 2020 election when its viewers rebelled against the channel for accurately calling the election for President Joe Biden. At the time, Powell, Giuliani and host Lou Dobbs were promoting debunked conspiracy theories that Dominion had rigged the 2020 election by flipping millions of votes. fox dominion email Dominion Voting Systems“Any day with Rudy and Sidney is guaranteed gold!” the Dobbs producer wrote.

☆ Dominion wants Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, other Fox News hosts to testify at trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Dominion's live witness list of Fox Corp .'s right-wing TV networks includes Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro, as well as former host Lou Dobbs and Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott, according to court papers. Dominion has pointed to 20 broadcasts in which they believe the hosts on Fox News and Fox Business repeated false claims of election fraud and continuously had on guests who repeated those claims. Documents, including text messages and emails, show Fox's TV hosts were skeptical of the election fraud claims being made on air. Dominion is also requesting the depositions of Fox Corp. executives, including Chairman Rupert Murdoch and CEO Lachlan Murdoch, as well as others, be included in the trial. "Dominion's needlessly expansive live witness list is yet another attempt to generate headlines and distract from the many shortcomings of its case.

Fox News, however, did suggest it wants to put Scott, Wallace, Hannity, Carlson, Bartiromo, and Baier on the stand as witnesses. But in past court filings, Fox News has highlighted the fact that Baier said on-air shortly after the 2020 election that there weren’t indications of widespread fraud. Both Fox News and Dominion asked Davis in court this week to declare them the outright winner without a trial. Fox News has argued that it can’t be held liable for airing inherently newsworthy allegations from public figures that Dominion rigged the 2020 election, even if those claims were false. Fox Corporation has argued that Dominion overstated its role in Fox News’ editorial coverage of the 2020 election and asked to be dropped from the lawsuit – but the judge let the case move forward.

☆ Fox, Dominion urge judge to rule in $1.6 billion defamation suit ahead of April trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

However, Fox and Dominion didn't close up their arguments on Tuesday and will meet in court Wednesday morning. (Trump's false claims of election fraud are at the center of multiple criminal probes.) Chairman Rupert Murdoch said some anchors parroted false fraud claims in the months following the election. Fox has consistently denied the claims it knowingly made false claims, and has argued it is protected by the First Amendment. These cases are often settled out of court or quickly dismissed by a court judge, but neither said has had such discussions, CNBC previously reported.

☆ Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch dismisses $1.6 billion defamation case revelations as ‘noise’
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch on Thursday dismissed the revelations from Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News as “noise,” throwing his support behind the right-wing talk channel in his first comments since the case enveloped the company in major scandal. Among the thousands of pages of documents released in the case include repeated statements from Fox Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch rejecting conspiracy theories about Dominion. However, Dominion said its position is that “confidential treatment of these materials is not warranted” based on case law standards. Filings in the case reviewed by CNN have included numerous redactions passages, including when Fox executives and personalities are quoted. The significant redactions have raised eyebrows about what Fox News is trying to prevent from being made public.

☆ ‘People are shocked and disgusted’: Fox News staffers say they are in the dark amid election lies scandal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

But this is unprecedented.”That was echoed to me over the last 48 hours by several other employees at Fox News. “I haven’t seen anything [communicated],” another Fox News staffer told me. And in lieu of the network’s management providing status updates to its employees about the looming trial in Dominion’s lawsuit, staffers are intensely curious about where things stand. In fact, some Fox News staffers have even reached out to me, looking for information on the case and asking for insight into their own network. It is a point that I have been making for some time — and it’s one that a second senior Fox staffer encouraged me to continue driving home.

☆ Murdoch said Fox News hosts should say the election is over 'to stop the Trump myth' that it was stolen
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In an email, chairman Rupert Murdoch discussed having prime-time anchors acknowledge Biden's win. A joint statement would "go a long way to stop the Trump myth that the election stolen," he wrote. He added: "Not those words, but a refinement would go a long way to stop the Trump myth that the election stolen. Is it 'unarguable that high profile Fox voices fed the story that the election was stolen and that January 6th an important chance to have result overturned'? All the way from Rupert Murdoch on down to the show producers, they knew what they were saying was not true, that it was actually a lie.

☆ Tucker Carlson ‘passionately’ hates Trump, and eight more key revelations about Fox News from new Dominion filings
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The filings expose the face of the network, Tucker Carlson, as a fraud. They show that Rupert Murdoch rejected conspiracy theories about Dominion, despite allowing them to be promoted on his network. But here are some immediate takeaways:► Carlson “passionately” hates Trump: In a number of private text messages, Carlson was harshly critical of Trump. I truly can’t wait.” Carlson added of Trump, “I hate him passionately.” The Fox host said of the Trump presidency, “That’s the last four years. There isn’t really an upside to Trump.”► Murdoch rejected conspiracies: In his January deposition, Murdoch was repeatedly asked about various electronic voting conspiracy theories — and he rejected all of them.

☆ Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham panicked and texted that Fox News 'hates us' after calling Arizona for Biden and bragged about their 'enormous power' at the network
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

New emails and texts released in Dominion Voting System's case against Fox News highlighted internal strife. The three prime-time hosts, Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, and Sean Hannity, felt sidelined after the Arizona call. "We are officially working for an organization that hates us," Ingraham texted the two hosts in November 2020. On Tuesday, a new series of internal emails, private texts, and depositions helped illuminate the internal rifts between Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, and their coworkers after the network called Arizona for Biden. "We are officially working for an organization that hates us," Ingraham texted Hannity and Carlson on November 16, 2020, according to court documents.

☆ Inner Workings of Fox News on Display in Defamation Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Joe Flint | Keach Hagey | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Fox News Chief Executive Suzanne Scott and Rupert Murdoch, the chair of Fox News parent Fox Corp.On Jan. 5, 2021, the day before the U.S. Capitol riot, Fox News Chief Executive Suzanne Scott got an email from Rupert Murdoch saying it might be time for the network’s prime-time hosts to declare Joe Biden had won the presidency. Though the stakes were especially high, getting an editorial suggestion from the top brass was hardly unusual, according to court filings from a defamation suit against Fox News that reveal internal communications at the network.

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