WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) 鈥� Attorneys defending Fox in a defamation case related to false claims about the 2020 election withheld critical information about the role company founder Rupert Murdoch played at Fox News, a revelation that angered the judge when it came up at a Tuesday hearing.
It was not clear whether the development would affect a trial scheduled to begin Thursday with jury selection. Dominion Voting Systems is suing Fox for $1.6 billion, saying it damaged its reputation by repeatedly airing that the company helped orchestrate a fraud that cost former President Donald Trump re-election.
The role of Fox executives is at the heart of the case. The company鈥檚 attorneys have sought to insulate members of the Murdoch family and to keep them from testifying live before a jury, arguing that their roles at the parent company, Fox Corp., put them at a distance from the Fox News shows that aired the bogus claims.
Fox Corp. had asserted since Dominion in 2021 that Rupert Murdoch had no official role at Fox News. In its filings, it had listed Fox News officers as Suzanne Scott, Jay Wallace and Joe Dorrego. But on Easter Sunday, Fox disclosed to Dominion鈥檚 attorneys that Murdoch also is 鈥渆xecutive chair鈥� at Fox News. The disclosure came after Superior Court Judge Eric Davis wondered aloud during a status conference last week who Fox News鈥� officers were.
Davis was clearly disturbed by the disclosure, coming on the eve of the trial.
鈥淢y problem is that it has been represented to me more than once that he is not an officer,鈥� the judge said.
Davis suggested that had he known of Murdoch鈥檚 dual role at Fox Corp. and Fox News, he might have reached different conclusions in a he issued last month. In that ruling, the judge said there was no dispute that the statements aired by Fox were false, but that a jury would have to decide whether Fox News acted with actual malice and whether Fox Corp. directly participated in airing the statements.
To Fox attorney Matthew Carter, Davis said: 鈥淵ou have a credibility problem.鈥�
In response, Carter said he believed Murdoch鈥檚 title at Fox News was only 鈥渉onorific.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 not mad at you,鈥� the judge later told Carter. 鈥淚鈥檓 mad at the situation I鈥檓 in.鈥�
In a statement issued after Tuesday's pretrial hearing, Fox said, 鈥淩upert Murdoch has been listed as executive chairman of Fox News in our SEC filings since 2019 and this filing was referenced by Dominion鈥檚 own attorney during his deposition.鈥�
It鈥檚 unclear whether the judge will take any action in response to the late disclosure. But an attorney for Dominion said he wanted Fox to further explain Murdoch's role with the network, indicating the issue could come up when the pretrial hearing continues Wednesday.
Dominion attorney Justin Nelson told the judge the disclosure has 鈥渁 big impact鈥� on the case. He said Fox鈥檚 failure to disclose Murdoch鈥檚 status at Fox News has deprived Dominion of 鈥渁 whole bunch鈥� of information from Murdoch as a custodian of Fox News records that it was entitled to have.
鈥淚t is something that really has impacted how we have litigated this case,鈥� he said.
Tuesday's development was the latest to turn an uncomfortable spotlight on the network.
Information obtained by Dominion as part of its lawsuit has shown that some network hosts harbored about election fraud claims but nevertheless allowed program guests to repeatedly make them in the aftermath of the 2020 election. The case also has drawn scrutiny of various emails and text messages shared among , his son Lachlan Murdoch and Scott, the Fox News CEO, about election coverage and the allegations by Trump and his allies that he was cheated.
They revealed a chorus of voices, from Rupert Murdoch and to producers and publicists, who internally cast the election-stealing conspiracy claims as crazy even as the network repeatedly gave them a platform. Internal communications also showed that at the time, major players at Fox were deeply worried about .
In a ruling earlier Tuesday, the judge denied a motion by Fox seeking to bar any reference at trial to matters involving the Murdoch family, which owns Fox Corp. The judge also said he would allow jurors to hear some testimony about threats directed at the voting machine company, but only to a point.
The judge granted a motion by Fox to prohibit any reference to specific threats or harassment directed at Dominion, saying he did not want the jury to be prejudiced against Fox because of threats made by people with no connection to the network. But he said he would allow Dominion to talk generally about threats it had received to show how it has been damaged by the Fox broadcasts.
鈥淚t has decimated Dominion鈥檚 ability to attract and retain employees, because the company is under siege,鈥� said Megan Meier, an attorney for the voting machine company.
The judge already decided last week there would be about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Randall Chase, The Associated Press
