Wilmington, Del. – The judge overseeing Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit against Fox News said Wednesday he would impose a sanction on the network and open an investigation into whether Fox’s legal team intentionally withheld evidence, not reprimanding lawyers. Being “straight” with him.
The condemnation came after lawyers for Dominion, who sued for defamation, revealed several instances in which Fox’s lawyers did not turn over evidence in a timely manner. That evidence included Fox News anchor Maria Barthiromo, former President Donald J. Dominion said records of conversations with Trump’s lawyers, Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani, were turned over a week ago.
In imposing an injunction on Fox, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric M. If Dominion has to do additional forms or redo what’s already been done, Davis said, “Fox will do everything they can to make that person available, and that will happen. There’s a cost to Fox.”
He also said he would appoint a special master to investigate Fox’s handling of the discovery of the documents and whether Fox improperly withheld details about Rupert Murdoch’s role as a corporate officer of Fox News.
Voting technology company Dominion accused Fox and some of the network’s executives and hosts of tarnishing its reputation by linking the series’ broadcasts to a baseless conspiracy of massive voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Mr. who was the principal then. Fox said it was reporting on newsworthy allegations from Trump and his lawyers and supporters.
The trial is set to begin Monday, with jury selection beginning Thursday. It was not immediately clear whether Dominion would take advantage of the judge’s ruling that its lawyers could conduct additional depositions.
The judge ordered Fox’s lawyers to retain all internal communications related to the officer issue since March 20. He said he was weighing whether to impose any additional sanctions on Fox.
Fox News v. Dominion Voter Systems
Documents from a lawsuit filed by voting machine maker Dominion against Fox News shed light on a debate within the network over false claims related to the 2020 election.
He said he was very concerned that there were “misconceptions in the court”.
“This is very serious,” Judge Davies said.
Dominion’s attorney, Davida Brooke, told the court she would receive the necessary documents from Fox with the case still days away.
“We continue to learn about more relevant information from people other than Fox,” he said. “To be honest, we don’t know what to do about it, but that’s the situation we find ourselves in.”
She pointed to a recently handed email between Ms. Bartiromo and Ms. Powell dated November 7, 2020. In that email, Ms. Irresponsibly: Ms. Powell relied on an email from a woman who showed signs of delusions, for example, saying she knew about voter fraud because she had special powers, including the ability to travel through time.
“I spoke to Eric and told him that you provided very important information,” Ms. Bartiromo wrote in response to Ms. Powell, often referring to Mr. Let’s mention Trump’s son, Eric Trump.
Ms. Brooke read for the court two recordings of the pre-interview, a preliminary conversation Ms. Bartiromo had before an on-air interview, which she said was obtained only after it was disclosed in legal complaints filed by ex Abby Grossberg. Fox News producer suing network
In one post, dated Nov. 8, 2020, Ms. Bartiromo asks Mr. Giuliani about Dominion Software. “It’s being analyzed right now,” he says. When she asked about the alleged miscommunication with Nancy Pelosi, Mr. Giuliani says: “Yes, I read it. I can’t prove it yet.
Another attorney for Dominion, Justin Nelson, asked Judge Davis to streamline the case by focusing only on Fox News during the trial and excluding its parent company, Fox Corporation, because Fox’s lawyers argued that Fox’s chief executive, Mr. Corp., was also the executive chairman of Fox News, which indicated greater responsibility for its broadcasts.
Mr. Nelson said that if that information had been provided earlier, the scope of the document discovery would have been much larger and relevant documents may have been lost.
“We are suing on the false premise that Rupert Murdoch is not an officer of Fox News,” he said.
Judge Davis declined to consolidate the case, but Mr. Murdoch was repeatedly asked whether or not he was a corporate officer of Fox News, but expressed concern that Fox’s legal team had not disclosed the information.
“I want people to tell the truth,” he said. “And, the omission is a lie.”
Don K. Webb, Fox’s lawyer, pushed back against Dominion’s claim, saying he and Mr. Murdoch also said he didn’t realize he held the executive chairman position at Fox News.
“On a day-to-day basis, Mr. Rupert Murdoch has nothing to do with the decisions that air on Fox News,” Mr. Webb said.
In an emailed statement, a Fox News spokesperson said: “Rupert Murdoch is listed as the executive chairman of Fox News in our SEC filings from 2019, and is referred to in this filing by Dominion’s own attorney.”
Judge Davis advised Fox’s attorneys that he had previously asked for clarification on who had corporate responsibility at Fox News, but had not received one.
“What do I do with lawyers who are not honest with me?” he asked.
