DE - Dominion Voting Systems vs. Fox News, $1.6B Defamation Trial for 2020 election lies, 17 Apr 2023 *Settled $787m* + add’l trials

[JerseyGirl]

Fox News sanctioned for withholding evidence in Dominion defamation case

The judge is giving Dominion Voting Systems a chance to conduct another deposition, at Fox's expense.

www.nbcnews.com

Judge Davis also said Wednesday he was considering appointing a special master to investigate the Fox legal teams' actions.

In a statement, Abby Grossberg's attorneys said she would be willing to speak with a special master if one is appointed.

“We are pleased that the Court recognized the very serious apparent discovery-related and other gross misconduct perpetrated by Fox News and its team of high-powered attorneys in relation to the Dominion v. Fox lawsuit that our client, Abby Grossberg, has courageously and repeatedly revealed in her lawsuits against the Network," Parisis G. Filippatos and Tanvir H. Rahman said Wednesday.

"Ms. Grossberg remains committed to speaking the truth in all appropriate forums, including before a Special Master appointed by the Court, while our firm will continue to ensure that she obtains the justice she deserves,” they added.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Judge admonishes Fox lawyers over evidence gap in libel case

The judge presiding over a defamation case against Fox News has admonished its attorneys for potentially withholding evidence and says he is inclined to order an independent review by a special master that could lead to sanctions. The move Wednesday by Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis...

kstp.com

In one pre-show conversation on Nov. 8, 2020, just days after the presidential election, Bartiromo asked Giuliani whether he had information about Dominion’s software, which some people had alleged could be manipulated.

“That’s a little harder. It’s being analyzed right now,” Giuliani responded.

A week later, Giuliani said on Bartiromo’s show that the software had been developed by a company founded by Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez and had been used to cheat in elections in South America.

Dominion attorney Davida Brook told the judge that Dominion only recently learned that Powell had forwarded to Bartiromo an email Powell received in November 2020 from a woman who described a wide range of conspiracy theories, including those involving claims of election fraud.

In her deposition, Bartiromo said she didn’t know if she even saw the email. “It’s not anything I looked at or considered real,” she said under oath.

But on Wednesday, the judge was shown an email confirming that Bartiromo not only read Powell’s email, but apparently discussed its contents with Trump’s son, Eric Trump, and sent a reply to Powell: “I just spoke to Eric & told him you gave very imp info,” Bartiromo wrote Powell.

Davis said he would allow Dominion to question Bartiromo under oath again, at Fox’s expense, though there was no immediate indication from Dominion that it would do so.

 

[ilovewings]

Fox News sanctioned for withholding evidence in Dominion defamation case

The judge is giving Dominion Voting Systems a chance to conduct another deposition, at Fox's expense.

www.nbcnews.com

Judge Davis also said Wednesday he was considering appointing a special master to investigate the Fox legal teams' actions.

In a statement, Abby Grossberg's attorneys said she would be willing to speak with a special master if one is appointed.

“We are pleased that the Court recognized the very serious apparent discovery-related and other gross misconduct perpetrated by Fox News and its team of high-powered attorneys in relation to the Dominion v. Fox lawsuit that our client, Abby Grossberg, has courageously and repeatedly revealed in her lawsuits against the Network," Parisis G. Filippatos and Tanvir H. Rahman said Wednesday.

"Ms. Grossberg remains committed to speaking the truth in all appropriate forums, including before a Special Master appointed by the Court, while our firm will continue to ensure that she obtains the justice she deserves,” they added.

Fox seems to believe they can continue to lie without punishment or consequence. This judge will not put up with their nonsense- and I believe this judge was appointed by Trump- The unmitigated gall of Fox and their attorneys to think they can pull a fast one on Dominion and the Court.

 

[MyBelle]

Fox seems to believe they can continue to lie without punishment or consequence. This judge will not put up with their nonsense- and I believe this judge was appointed by Trump- The unmitigated gall of Fox and their attorneys to think they can pull a fast one on Dominion and the Court.

The gall of Fox thinking they can lie to the public about an election being stolen and believing they wouldn't get caught.

JMO

 

[sds71]

@WagnerTonight

EXCLUSIVE TONIGHT:
@alexwagner will share newly revealed audio between members of the Trump team and Fox News that is at the heart of new sanctions imposed on Fox

https://twitter.com/x/status/1646321015276937216

https://twitter.com/x/status/1646326406123536390

https://twitter.com/x/status/1646320794304126977

Fox News withheld audio recordings in Dominion case: lawyer for former Fox News producer

Gerry Filippatos, attorney for former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg, talks with Alex Wagner about how Grossberg recorded off-air conversations with members of Donald Trump's team, and the realization that those recordings hadn't been turned over by Fox News lawyers in the Dominion Voting...

www.msnbc.com

 

[ParkerParky]

It would be interesting to see the Fox News hosts in the witness stand.

agreed. It´s not like they are camera shy...

 

[ParkerParky]

I sure hope Dominion refuses to settle. It is infuriating to me that such a major news source flat-out lied about the election results. A jury needs to hear the facts and hold them accountable. In the lawsuit filed by the Venezuelan businessman, it claims that Murdoch had nearly daily contact with Trump and influenced an FCC appointment.

JMO

Fox wanted to but Dominion refused. Glad they did.

 

[Lilibet]

Fox wanted to but Dominion refused. Glad they did.

Yes, for Dominion I’m sure it’s less about the money they’ve lost and more about their damaged reputation.

I imagine the gentleman who did settle with Fox cut his losses to avoid more time and potential attorney fees. I hope Fox paid him well for their deliberate lies.
JMO

 

[Snoopster]

What to Know About the Fox-Dominion Defamation Trial

The lawsuit centers on the election-related falsehoods spread by Fox News stars and guests in the wake of the 2020 election.

time.com

<snip>

Jury selection is scheduled to begin on April 13 in Delaware, with the trial set to start on April 17.

Delaware does not generally allow video cameras in its trial courtrooms, so the trial will not be broadcast live.

The trial is expected to last more than a month.

<snip>

snipped and bolded for focus.

I wish I could be a fly on the wall! This is a very important trial. It's a fight for democracy and ethics.
Fox spokespeople said it is a fight for freedom of speech to broadcast 'newsworthy' information. But rank lies that promote tyranny and hatred are not newsworthy and they don't deserve a platform on a major 'entertainment' network. (Fox already admitted they were not a news organization in previous legal cases.)

All JMO of course (since I am not a major network and have zero followers )

 

[Snoopster]

Fox News sanctioned for withholding evidence in Dominion defamation case

The judge is giving Dominion Voting Systems a chance to conduct another deposition, at Fox's expense.

www.nbcnews.com

Judge Davis also said Wednesday he was considering appointing a special master to investigate the Fox legal teams' actions.

In a statement, Abby Grossberg's attorneys said she would be willing to speak with a special master if one is appointed.

“We are pleased that the Court recognized the very serious apparent discovery-related and other gross misconduct perpetrated by Fox News and its team of high-powered attorneys in relation to the Dominion v. Fox lawsuit that our client, Abby Grossberg, has courageously and repeatedly revealed in her lawsuits against the Network," Parisis G. Filippatos and Tanvir H. Rahman said Wednesday.

"Ms. Grossberg remains committed to speaking the truth in all appropriate forums, including before a Special Master appointed by the Court, while our firm will continue to ensure that she obtains the justice she deserves,” they added.

This is not a specific comment on this particular post but just a reason to specifically thank @JerseyGirl for her diligent posting of media on this thread. I can't thank you enough!!

 

[Smelly Squirrel]

snipped and bolded for focus.

I wish I could be a fly on the wall! This is a very important trial.

Oh noooo, I thought there would be cameras.

 

[Auntie Cipation]

Oh noooo, I thought there would be cameras.

I hope they will permit journalists to text updates live during the trial. Not as good as cameras, but at least the public could follow along instead of reading about it afterwards.

 

[Smelly Squirrel]

Inside Rupert Murdoch’s Succession Drama

With the $1.6 billion Dominion lawsuit threatening to hobble Fox News, the ink on his divorce to Jerry Hall still wet, and his broken engagement to Ann Lesley Smith even fresher, it’s been a chaotic 12 months for the 92-year-old conservative media baron. As Fox and family insiders tell it, this...

www.vanityfair.com

Murdoch and Smith had planned to marry this summer. He proposed with an 11-carat diamond engagement ring said to be worth upwards of $2.5 million. Then, a little more than two weeks after rolling out news of their engagement, the pair abruptly called it off. One source close to Murdoch said he had become increasingly uncomfortable with Smith’s outspoken evangelical views. “She said Tucker Carlson is a messenger from God, and he said nope,” the source said.

 

[SouthAussie]

I can't because the FCC is supposed to regulate them. There are also codes of journalism ethics. I'll never trust anything they report.

It's obvious they lied and thought they could get away with it.

Apparently, the FCC can more easily regulate broadcast stations, not so easily regulate cable stations.

And then politics also play a part, in recent times the FCC has been deadlocked.


The FCC’s makeup makes it particularly unlikely to agree on a partisan decision. It is usually governed by a board of five Senate-confirmed commissioners — three from the president’s party and two from the opposition. But President Joe Biden’s FCC has been stuck in a rare 2-2 deadlock. Biden’s pick to be the fifth commissioner, Gigi Sohn, was the target of an unprecedented smear campaign. She withdrew her candidacy Tuesday.

The FCC could choose to act against Rupert Murdoch for Fox News’ election lies, but few expect it to

The media regulator was once more adversarial and had various rules it could enforce, but there’s little in the way of expectations it will act about how Fox News misled viewers about the 2020 election.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[SouthAussie]

Rupert Murdoch took direct role in Fox News 2020 election call, filings reveal

Messages newly released in Dominion Voting Systems defamation case show media mogul discussed when to call Trump’s defeat

www.theguardian.com

Messages newly released in Dominion Voting Systems defamation case show media mogul discussed when to call Trump’s defeat

Rupert Murdoch took a direct role in how Fox News finally called the 2020 US election for Joe Biden over Donald Trump, newly unredacted messages in Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6bn defamation case showed on Friday.

“It would be great if we call it for Biden as soon as he gets over, say, 35,000 ahead in Pennsylvania,” Murdoch, the now 92-year-old Fox News owner, wrote to the network’s chief executive, Suzanne Scott, on 6 November 2020, three days after election day but a day before Pennsylvania put Biden over the top.

“Whenever we do it, it will all be over. Regardless of Arizona.”

Fox News’ election night call of Arizona for Biden took most observers by surprise and enraged Trump and his followers.

Rupert Murdoch had a lot more to say ...

- He said that the ideas to convince state legislatures to reject Biden victories sounded ridiculous
- And that DT's consideration to hold a rally on Inauguration Day was horrible
- He said that DT's behaviour was making it more and more difficult for Fox to straddle the issue of election
- He thought (erroneously) that DT would eventually concede that he lost the election
- He said DT appeared increasingly mad, and that Giuliani was encouraging him
- Two days after the Jan 6th insurrection, he said that Fox News was pivoting, he wanted to make DT a non-person
- He thought that maybe Hannity and Ingraham went too far (in their reporting during the weeks prior to Biden taking office), and commented that it was all very well for Hannity to say that he was in despair about Trump, but what did Hannity tell his viewers.


This is all revealed in Fox documents, texts and emails that form part of Dominion's lawsuit.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2023/03/07/rupert-murdoch-fox-news-dominion/

 

[Niner]

Since the article did mention that jury selection would still happen - I shall go ahead & post this & shorten it up a bit.


Thursday, April 13th:
*Jury Selection set to begin (@ am ET) – DE – U.S. Dominion, Inc. vs Fox News Network, LLC is seeking $1.6 billion from Fox in a defamation suit over false allegations on the network that the company committed election fraud.
Jury Selection to begin on 4/13/23.
Trial set to begin on 4/17/23 (will run for 6 weeks).
Case info from 10/6/22 thru 3/21/23 reference post #297 here:
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/t...of-demonstrators-6-jan-2021-18.663989/page-15
3/22/23 Update: Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems argued that Fox recklessly repeated false accusations from supporters of former President Donald Trump that its machines and the software used were responsible for Trump's 2020 election loss. Documents released during the lawsuit have shown that top Fox executives and personalities didn't believe the claims but aired them anyway. But Fox contended it was simply reporting on newsworthy allegations — a sitting president's claim that the election was being stolen from him. "We never reported those to be true," Fox lawyer Erin Murphy said. "All we ever did was provide viewers the true fact that these were allegations that were being made." The arguments, which are scheduled to continue Wednesday, 3/22/23 came during a summary judgment hearing as both sides in the case asked Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis to find in their favor ahead of an April 17 trial date. It's unclear when Davis might issue a ruling.
3/23/23 Update: Erin Murphy, Fox’s attorney, defended Fox during the second and final day of a pre-trial hearing in Delaware on Wednesday in the closely watched $1.6bn defamation case. It was part of her multi-pronged defense to rebut evidence presented by attorneys for Dominion Voting Systems that top executives, including Rupert & Lachlan Murdoch, knowingly aired false claims about the company. Both sides are asking Delaware Superior Judge Eric Davis to rule in their favor ahead of an expected trial in mid-April. His ruling will likely set the scope of the trial & the hearing for summary judgment featured a preview of what to expect during it. Judge Davis challenged Murphy’s argument at times, asking whether it was her position that top officials at the company really did not have the authority to step in & halt a host like Lou Dobbs from making outlandish claims about Dominion & voter fraud. He also pointed out that executives failed to act even after they saw guests repeatedly coming on shows & making false claims about the election. Stephen Shackelford, another Dominion lawyer, also challenged Murphy’s argument that Fox was simply informing viewers by bringing Trump lawyer Sidney Powell on its airwaves to understand the president’s allegations about Dominion. He noted that Powell wasn’t even the president’s lawyer when she began leveling the claims on Fox & an internal Fox email showed Powell was getting shut out of the White House. Powell, in turn, used Fox as a platform to spread false claims about Dominion & get the attention of the public & Trump. Fox News TV hosts including Tucker Carlson & Maria Bartiromo, along with Fox Corp. Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch, will likely be forced to testify during a trial next month over more than $1 billion in defamation claims against the network by Dominion Voting Systems. Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis told lawyers in the case on Wednesday that key witnesses will be expected to answer questions in person during the six-week trial, which is set to start April 17. Davis said he’d rule later on Fox’s motion to dismiss the case before trial. Judge Davis said on Tuesday he had not reached a decision. His ruling, expected in early April, will probably set out the scope of issues for a trial scheduled later that month.
3/28/23 Update: Dominion Voting Systems is seeking to compel Fox News' top TV personalities to appear as witnesses before a jury in a trial scheduled to begin next month. Dominion's live witness list of Fox Corp.'s right-wing TV networks includes Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Maria Bartiromo & Jeanine Pirro, as well as former host Lou Dobbs & Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott, according to court papers. Also requested Rupert Murdoch, chief political anchor Bret Baier, network chief Suzanne Scott, Fox News president Jay Wallace & former producer Abby Grossberg, Dominion has pointed to 20 broadcasts in which they believe the hosts on Fox News & Fox Business repeated false claims of election fraud & continuously had on guests who repeated those claims. Documents, including text messages & emails, show Fox's TV hosts were skeptical of the election fraud claims being made on air.
3/28/23 Update: Lawyers for Fox News were met with skepticism Tuesday when they argued that Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch against the company. At a hearing in Delaware Superior Court, Judge Eric Davis said he’d received a letter from Fox saying it would be an “inconvenience” for Murdoch, 92, to provide testimony in the courtroom. Murdoch, the judge said, is “hardly infirm.” The judge said that after receiving the letter he was told that Murdoch had just gotten engaged and was discussing plans to travel more in the coming years — an apparent reference to an interview the recently divorced media mogul gave to his New York Post last week, where he announced his engagement to Ann Lesley Smith, 66. The article said the couple planned to spend their time between California, the United Kingdom, Montana and New York. “That doesn’t sound like someone who can’t go from New York to Wilmington,” the judge said. Fox lawyer Matthew Carter told the judge he was concerned there had been a “miscommunication” about their objection to Murdoch’s testimony. “We are not arguing he’s infirm or incapable of travel,” Carter said. “Our view is in light of his seven hour deposition, we thought it’s not necessary for him to travel” to testify live. The judge did not rule on whether Murdoch will be required to testify in person for the trial, which is slated to begin on April 17 & last about six weeks.
3/30/23 Update: Last week, Abby Grossberg (former Fox News producer) filed explosive lawsuits in New York & Delaware accusing Fox News lawyers of pressuring her into providing misleading testimony in the Dominion case -- testimony that would protect the network & its top talent. Since filing the lawsuit, she submitted new sworn testimony in the Dominion defamation case that undermines some of Fox's defenses. She also claimed in her lawsuit that she had been subjected to a toxic & sexist work environment while at Fox News. The network has vehemently pushed back against these allegations. After filing the lawsuit, Grossberg was fired from Fox News. The right-wing network said in a statement that she violated corporate rules improperly exposed legally privileged information in her lawsuit.
3/31/23 Update: Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis ruling: Fox News' Rule 56 Motion for Summary Judgment-Denied. Fox Corp's Rule 56 Motion for Summary Judgment-Denied. Dominion's Motion for Summary Judgment on liability of Fox News-granted in part & denied in part. Court rejects Fox News bid to toss Dominion lawsuit. "The evidence does not support that [Fox News] conducted good-faith, disinterested reporting." "Publication" basically means communication of a statement to a third party, it's about whether you did say it somebody else. And here there is a distinction on the publication issue between the entity of Fox News and the entity of Fox Corporation. So at trial they will only be deciding the issues of publication by FC & actual malice, Dominion has already won on whether the statements were false, about Dominion, published by FNN, and were defamatory per se.
4/5/23 Update: Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said at a hearing that if Dominion subpoenas the Murdochs to testify in-person, he would not quash those subpoenas & the Murdochs would need to show up to the courthouse. Also - “I don’t see Jan. 6 as relevant in this case,” Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said during a hearing Wednesday. “I know that probably shocks everyone.” Dominion has specifically alleged that it was defamed by comments made on 17 programs that aired between Nov. 8, 2020, and Jan. 26, 2021, and in three tweets from former Fox Business Network host Lou Dobbs.
4/11/23 Update: An attorney representing Fox News against Dominion's $1.6 billion defamation suit clashed Tuesday with the judge in the case over how some of the network's biggest stars can be questioned on the witness stand once the trial gets underway next week. "The hosts are going to make the argument that they didn't make the statements," Fox attorney Dan Webb said during a pretrial hearing in the case, offering a potential window into how some of Fox's biggest stars may explain some of their broadcasts that Dominion has said were defamatory. "If you argue that," Judge Eric Davis warned, "I will turn to the jury and say [you are] incorrect." Judge Davis reiterated during the hearing it is "crystal clear" that the allegations Fox aired against Dominion were false. He also noted that bringing somebody on the air "does not absolve the publisher," telling the Fox attorney, "That's what you have to be careful of." Both sides have suggested they would like Fox hosts including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham to testify live, according to a court filing in the case. Both Dominion and Fox listed those stars, as well as dozens of other names, on their proposed witness lists submitted to the court ahead of trial. Jury selection is scheduled to begin on 4/13/23 in Delaware, with the trial set to start on 4/17/23.
4/12/23 Update: Judge Davis presiding over a defamation case against Fox News admonished its attorneys Wednesday for potentially withholding evidence & said he is inclined to order an independent review by a special master that could lead to sanctions. The move by Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis came amid a burst of fresh revelations in the case filed by Dominion Voting Systems against the conservative network & its parent company, Fox Corp. The judge expressed anger & frustration during a pretrial hearing after learning that Fox only recently turned over recordings of Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo talking with two lawyers for then-President Donald Trump, Sidney Powell & Rudy Giuliani. That came after the disclosure a day earlier that Fox lawyers had withheld critical information about the role company founder Rupert Murdoch, who is chairman of Fox Corp., played at Fox News. sanctioned FOX News for withholding evidence in the case. Also said he would consider appointing a special master to investigate the Fox legal teams' actions. The judge Wednesday ordered Fox attorneys to collect and preserve all internal communications regarding the matter. Earlier in the day, he denied Dominion’s request to hold separate trials based on the new information about Murdoch’s roles — one for Fox News and another for the network’s parent company. Jury selection begins on 4/13/23.

 

[Lilibet]

https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/27/media/fox-dominion-abby-grossberg?utm_source=business_ribbon

The Fox News producer who accused the right-wing network of pressuring her into giving misleading testimony in the Dominion defamation case has been fired, she disclosed in new court filings.

Lawyers for Abby Grossberg, a former producer for Maria Bartiromo and Tucker Carlson who is suing Fox News over the alleged legal coercion, said that she was fired by the network on Friday. Her lawyers said the company’s official explanation for the dismissal was that she “improperly disclosed information regarding the Dominion/Fox Lawsuit that the Company purportedly believed was privileged.”

 

[PommyMommy]

APR 13, 2023

Jury selection underway in Dominion's $1.6 billion defamation case against Fox News

Jury selection is underway in Dominion's $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox News, which Dominion claims defamed the voting machine company following the 2020 election.

abcnews.go.com

[...]

Jury selection is expected to last two days, with opening statements scheduled for Monday morning in Wilmington, Delaware.

To win its case, Dominion will have to meet the heavy burden of proving "actual malice" -- showing that Fox News did not just broadcast false statements, but that they did so knowing they were false or with a "reckless disregard" for the truth.

[...]

The closely-watched trial, which is expected to last five to six weeks, is expected to see live testimony in the courtroom from some of Fox's biggest stars and executives, including Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch, and hosts Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity.

"I never believed it," Murdoch said regarding one of the false anti-Dominion conspiracy theories, according to a transcript that was released from his closed-door deposition in the case earlier this year.

[...]

 

[JerseyGirl]

Caught on Tape: Trump Official Told Fox News Dominion Voting Machines Were Legit

A Trump campaign official admitted that Georgia’s voting machines had zero “physical issues”

www.rollingstone.com

Wagner also shared an audio snippet between a Fox News producer and Trump campaign official on December 5, 2020. “Have any of the machines been looked at? [Steve Bannon] had said that one was looked at in Georgia,” the producer asks, which prompts the official to go off the record.

“When the Secretary of State did its audit, there was a lot, I think a fair bit of looking at the machines,” says the Trump official. “The audit came in pretty darn close to what the machine count was with the receipts. So, I don’t know the outcome of those, but our understanding, again, this is from the Secretary of State’s Office, was that there weren’t any physical issues with machines on those inspections.”

 

[MyBelle]

Apparently, the FCC can more easily regulate broadcast stations, not so easily regulate cable stations.

And then politics also play a part, in recent times the FCC has been deadlocked.


The FCC’s makeup makes it particularly unlikely to agree on a partisan decision. It is usually governed by a board of five Senate-confirmed commissioners — three from the president’s party and two from the opposition. But President Joe Biden’s FCC has been stuck in a rare 2-2 deadlock. Biden’s pick to be the fifth commissioner, Gigi Sohn, was the target of an unprecedented smear campaign. She withdrew her candidacy Tuesday.

The FCC could choose to act against Rupert Murdoch for Fox News’ election lies, but few expect it to

The media regulator was once more adversarial and had various rules it could enforce, but there’s little in the way of expectations it will act about how Fox News misled viewers about the 2020 election.

www.nbcnews.com

I think the FCC should also regulate because stations which were once strictly cable--and required a subscription--are now carried over the internet, which is public.

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