A judge has pointed to a "credibility problem" with Fox News as it braces for a $1.6 billion defamation trial, following the network's first-time disclosure that Rupert Murdoch held a position within the company after nearly two years of litigation. Murdoch, Fox Corp's chairman, is expected to testify in the trial commencing Monday, which involves Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corp (FOXA.O).
Dominion Voting Systems claims that Fox News knowingly and repeatedly broadcast false allegations that Dominion's machines were manipulated to reverse the outcome of the 2020 U.S. presidential election against former President Donald Trump in favor of Democrat Joe Biden. According to Dominion attorney Justin Nelson, Fox News had previously denied Murdoch's role as a company officer, which influenced how Dominion approached the case. As a Fox News officer, Murdoch would likely have faced more intense scrutiny during discovery by Dominion.
Nelson expressed his concern, stating that Dominion only discovered Murdoch's position on Sunday and received the first document indicating Murdoch's title as Fox News executive chairman on Tuesday morning. During a February deposition, Murdoch revealed his title, which a Fox lawyer referred to as "honorific" at the hearing in Wilmington, Delaware.
A Fox News spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Superior Court Judge Eric Davis described the belated disclosure as "bizarre" and reprimanded Fox's attorneys for previously asserting that Murdoch was not a Fox News officer, only to retract their statement on the trial's eve. "I'm not very happy right now," Davis remarked. "You have a credibility problem."
Dominion alleges that depositions by Murdoch and others, along with a wealth of internal Fox communications, demonstrate that high-ranking network personnel were aware that the election fraud claims were baseless but chose to broadcast them to appease Fox's conservative audience. The jury, whose selection will begin on Thursday ahead of Monday's opening statements, will likely have to determine who had knowledge of the false allegations and the extent of their influence over Fox's coverage.
Dominion's Nelson stated during Tuesday's hearing that the company was still considering what actions, if any, to request from the judge in response to the delayed disclosure.