Fox News on Tuesday forged a last-minute $787 million settlement of the $1.6 billion defamation case filed by Dominion Voting Systems as the two sides prepared for what was expected to be a blockbuster trial over the network’s pro-Trump campaign of election lies.
The two sides announced the 11th hour deal as a jury was seated and opening arguments were about to begin in a Delaware court.
“Fox has admitted telling lies about my company,” Dominion CEO John Poulos said. “We believe the evidence uncovered in this case underscores the consequences of spreading lies.”
Dominion lawyer Justin Nelson called the settlement for about half of the amount demanded “a ringing endorsement of truth and democracy.”
Fox did not apologize for its conduct. It countered that the deal reflects the conservative-leaning network’s “continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards.”
Dominion accused Fox of spewing lies about its voting machines to boost former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was rigged.
Fox CEO Rupert Murdoch had been expected to be forced to defend the network’s conduct on the witness stand.
Top-rated hosts like Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity were also expected to have to explain under oath why they kept on pushing Trump’s voting machine conspiracies even though they privately conceded they were lies.
The surprise settlement was announced after an unexplained afternoon delay in which Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis and top lawyers for both sides disappeared behind closed doors.
Fox is still facing a $2 billion lawsuit filed by Smartmatic, a rival voting machine-maker. That looks like another major settlement in the making after the network caved to Dominion.
“Dominion’s litigation exposed some of the misconduct and damage caused by Fox’s disinformation campaign. Smartmatic will expose the rest,” said Erik Connolly, a lawyer for Smartmatic.
Dominion claimed Fox destroyed its brand by falsely claiming its widely used machines were part of a supposed wide-ranging conspiracy to prevent Trump from winning reelection.
Starting days after Election Day, Fox gave copious air time to a parade of Trump acolytes who spouted evidence-free claims that Dominion machines were somehow programmed to switch votes to President Biden in various battleground states.
Embarrassing emails and texts revealed in pre-trial motions revealed that Fox hosts went ahead with the lies even though they knew they were false.
Executives warned they needed to keep Trump’s loyal army of supporters happy or risk lower ratings.
Fox countered that the First Amendment gives it the right to present both sides of a news story and notes that it often mentioned Dominion’s denials.
The network may have had a stronger argument when it comes to the hefty financial claims made by Dominion. The privately held company is valued at about $100 million, suggesting that the $1.6 billion claim might have proved to be a stretch.