Judge Sounds Skeptical of some Fox Arguments in Dominion Lawsuit

21 Mar
Judge Sounds Skeptical of some Fox Arguments in Dominion Lawsuit

A Delaware judge threw cold water on some arguments made by a lawyer representing Fox News on Tuesday, less than a month before a trial is expected to begin in Dominion Voting System’s $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against the network.

As both Fox and Dominion made their arguments for summary judgment and pleaded for an early victory that might preclude a jury trial, Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis pushed back on assertions from both sides during the day-long hearing. But the judge seemed particularly skeptical of Fox’s claims that its hosts were merely voicing opinions — not asserting false facts — when they suggested to viewers that Dominion may have manufactured fraudulent votes for Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

“That sounds like a statement of fact, and we know that’s not true,” Davis said at one point during Fox’s presentation, referring to a Nov. 30, 2020, show in which Sean Hannity suggested Democrats and Republicans both agreed Dominion’s voting machines were subpar.

He seemed equally dubious when Fox argued that another host — Jeanine Pirro — did not defame Dominion when she told viewers the same month that “for the sake of our Republic, we have an obligation to get honest and truthful answers” about Dominion, which allies of President Donald Trump were claiming at the time was part of a conspiracy to steal the election.

Internal documents revealed during the lawsuit show that Fox’s researchers had concluded such claims were meritless. “How can that be neutral?” the judge asked Fox attorney Erin E. Murphy. “That last statement makes it sound like she [Pirro] has no knowledge one way or the other that Dominion had an algorithm that flipped [votes].”

Davis also said during the hearing that Fox has “a Dobbs problem sometimes,” referencing former Fox Business Network host Lou Dobbs and his suggestions that Dominion was engaged in mass voter fraud.

(Excerpt) Read more in: The Washington Post

Judge Sounds Skeptical of some Fox Arguments in Dominion Lawsuit

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