Judge Sanctions Fox News For Withholding Evidence In Dominion Lawsuit

Topline

A Delaware judge sanctioned Fox News on Wednesday for withholding evidence in Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit, according to multiple reports, delivering a legal blow to the network just days before a high-profile trial to decide the case is set to begin.

Rupert Murdoch arrives at the Sun Valley Resort of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference … [+] on July 10, 2018 in Sun Valley, Idaho. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

Judge Eric Davis reportedly told Fox News that Dominion should be allowed to conduct new depositions, telling the network: “Fox will do everything they can to make the person available, and it will be at a cost to Fox,” according to the New York Times.

NBC News reported the ruling came after Dominion lawyers played recordings of former Fox News employee Abby Grossberg they did not receive during discovery.

Grossberg—a producer for Tucker Carlson and Maria Bartiromo—sued Fox News last month, claiming Fox News’ lawyers “coerced, intimidated, and misinformed” her into giving misleading information during her September deposition.

Grossberg said in an amended complaint Tuesday that she has secret recordings of former Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell privately admitting they did not have evidence to back up claims they made on Fox News that Dominion was somehow involved in a voter fraud scheme—evidence that was not given to Dominion during discovery.

Dominion’s lawyers also said Wednesday Fox News is still turning over critical evidence, according to the Times, like an email they recently received between Bartiromo and Powell where Powell names a woman who claimed to have special powers, like the ability to time travel, as her source for Dominion fraud allegations.

A Fox News spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes.

Surprising Fact

Davis also reportedly said he plans to appoint a “special master” to review whether Fox attorneys knowingly lied to the court when they said billionaire Rupert Murdoch did not have an executive position at Fox News—which the network only acknowledged in recent days. Davis said Tuesday he “could have made an entirely wrong decision” earlier in the case since he was unaware of Murdoch’s role.

Crucial Quote

“I am very concerned… that there have been misrepresentations to the court. This is very serious,” Davis said, according to CNN.

What To Watch For

The trial is scheduled to begin Monday. It is expected to take weeks.

Key Background

Dominion’s suit accuses Fox News of damaging its brand through recklessly broadcasting conspiracy theories suggesting Dominion’s voting machines were rigged against former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election. Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corp., have denied any wrongdoing, instead saying prominent show hosts were acting as journalists to investigate the fraud claims, while blasting the lawsuit as a dangerous attack on the free press. Dominion’s filings in the suit have suggested Fox News hosts like Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham were privately well aware there was no basis for fraud claims involving Dominion, with Carlson at points calling the Dominion allegations “insane” and “absurd.” Fox News did air some fact checks of fraud claims, but Davis ruled Tuesday those will not be discussed at the trial, labeling them “not relevant” to the case. Murdoch, 92, also said in a January deposition he wished Fox News anchors did more to push back on the fraud allegations, saying, “I would have liked us to be stronger in denouncing it in hindsight.”

What We Don’t Know

Davis recently ruled Murdoch and major Fox News anchors can be called to testify at the trial, but it is unclear if they will.