Rupert Murdoch Expected To Testify In Dominion Case Early Next Week, Report Says

Topline

Billionaire Fox Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch is expected to testify in a Delaware courtroom as soon as Monday in Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, according to Bloomberg, taking the stand as one of the first witnesses in the highly anticipated trial over conspiracy theories Fox News aired after the 2020 presidential election.

Rupert Murdoch introduces then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during the Herman Kahn Award Gala on … [+] October 30, 2019, in New York City. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

Key Facts

Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources familiar with the case, reported Murdoch will likely be the second witness called after the trial gets started Monday, appearing in court after Dominion’s lawyers question a First Amendment expert on the definition of defamation.

Murdoch’s son—Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch—is also expected to testify in the roughly six-week trial, along with Fox anchors Tucker Carlson and Maria Bartiromo and former Fox host Lou Dobbs.

Murdoch is expected to face questioning from Dominion’s attorneys about his role in directing Fox News’ coverage in the wake of the 2020 election, according to Bloomberg.

Fox News and its Fox Corp. parent company—both defendants in the case—have said Murdoch was not hands-on in Fox News’ day-to-day coverage plans.

Fox Corp. spokesman Brian Nick told Forbes the company doesn’t have any information about Murdoch’s potential testimony, while Dominion did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Surprising Fact

Delaware Judge Eric Davis reportedly sanctioned Fox on Wednesday for withholding evidence in the case, after Dominion lawyers said they obtained a recording from a former Fox News producer that was not turned over during discovery. Davis also said he plans to appoint a “special master” to investigate whether Fox’s attorneys lied to the court when they indicated Murdoch did not hold an official role at Fox News and was only an officer of Fox Corp. Dominion will be allowed to conduct new depositions at Fox’s expense as part of the sanction.

What To Watch For

Jury selection in the case begins Thursday.

Key Background

Dominion has argued Fox News caused immense damage to its brand by allowing prominent anchors and guests to spout conspiracy theories in the wake of the 2020 election, asserting Dominion’s voting machines were somehow rigged against former President Donald Trump. Fox’s attorneys have insisted the network was carrying out its journalistic duty of investigating claims made by the Trump campaign, calling Dominion’s lawsuit an egregious attack on the freedom of the press. But Dominion’s filings have revealed Fox News hosts privately dismissed allegations surrounding Dominion, with Carlson calling them “insane” and “absurd.” Murdoch expressed similar beliefs in a January deposition, saying he did not agree with the statement that Dominion “engaged in a massive and coordinated effort to steal the 2020 presidential election,” while lamenting Fox’s coverage, saying, “I would have liked us to be stronger in denouncing it in hindsight.” At one point in his deposition, Murdoch denied the company had backed stolen election claims, but acknowledged some Fox personalities endorsed the theory—including Bartiromo, Dobbs, Jeanine Pirro and Sean Hannity. Davis ruled Tuesday that Fox cannot include its reporters’ fact-checking of Dominion fraud claims in its defense, calling it “not relevant” to the case.

Forbes Valuation

We estimate Murdoch to be worth $17.5 billion, largely through his media empire that controls brands like Fox, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post.