Fox Corp. doesn’t plan to make Rupert Murdoch available to testify at the trial of a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit over Fox News’s airing of false claims that a voting machine company rigged the 2020 presidential election against Donald Trump.
(Bloomberg) — Fox Corp. doesn’t plan to make Rupert Murdoch available to testify at the trial of a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit over Fox News’s airing of false claims that a voting machine company rigged the 2020 presidential election against Donald Trump.
Murdoch, the 92-year-old chairman of the network’s parent, wasn’t included on a witness list filed Tuesday in Delaware state court in Wilmington, where the trial is set to start April 17. Murdoch’s son and co-chairman Lachlan Murdoch also wasn’t on the list. The plaintiff, Dominion Voting Systems Inc., has identified both men as key witnesses.
Read Fox’s witness list here
The dispute over trial witnesses is likely to be a topic at a hearing Wednesday afternoon before Superior Court Judge Eric Davis. The judge ruled last month that a jury must decide whether Fox’s defamatory broadcasts were made with knowing or reckless disregard for the truth and whether Dominion suffered damages.
The trial will shed light on why Fox repeatedly allowed guests like Rudy Giuliani and former Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell to falsely claim that Dominion conspired with foreign hackers and corrupt Democrats to ensure Joe Biden won, even though many Fox employees knew it was bogus.
Dominion’s representatives didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the witness list, while Fox Corp. spokesman Brian Nick pointed to the company’s earlier statements in court.
Read More: Fox Judge Says It’s ‘CRYSTAL Clear’ Election Claims Were False
Fox Corp.’s lawyers previously signaled that they don’t believe Rupert Murdoch should have to testify live, arguing that his extensive deposition testimony under oath about Fox’s reporting on the election and his role in news coverage is sufficient to show jurors. Fox argues Murdoch had no direct control over the reporting, overseen by executives at Fox News.
At a March 28 hearing, Davis balked at Fox Corp.’s suggestion that it may be too burdensome for Rupert Murdoch to testify live. The judge also said he prefers live testimony and stressed that he has the authority to order executives of Delaware-incorporated companies to take the witness stand.
Even so, Fox didn’t include Murdoch on its list of live witnesses. The list does include current and former Fox hosts Maria Bartiromo, Tucker Carlson, Lou Dobbs, Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro, Bret Baier and Fox News Chief Executive Officer Suzanne Scott, all of whom played central roles in Fox’s coverage of the election.
The case is Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox Corp., N21C-11-082 EMD CCLD, Delaware Superior Court (Wilmington).
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