Trial Of The Century Turns Out To Be A Dud: FOX Pays A Settlement As The Opportunity Cost of Doing Business (Updated)

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The Trial of the century turned out to be a dud: Dominion Voting Systems settled for less than half of what it sued for and, unbelievably, in a defamation case Dominion does not get on-air mea culpas from Fox News propagandists nor a regularly airing retraction and apology on Fox News. I would never have agreed to any settlement without this in a defamation case. Money is not holding Fox News accountable, for Rupert Murdoch this is just the opportunity cost of doing business (Fox News regularly settles claims against it, and there have been many). Fox News merely issued a statement acknowledging that Fox News made false statements about Dominion Voting Systems – because the Court ruled on the motions for summary judgment that Fox News was guilty of business defamation per se. It is an established fact.

This settlement deprives us all of seeing Fox News propagandists and Rupert Murdoch destroyed and humiliated on the stand, under oath, using their own words against them. And from the public facing evidence, the jury would have awarded Dominion Voting Systems the $1.6 billion it sued for, and perhaps up to ten times that amount in punitive damages (which would later be overturned by the U.S. Extreme Court no doubt). I am so bummed out today.

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NBC News reports, Dominion and Fox News reach $787.5 million settlement in defamation lawsuit:

Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems reached a $787.5 million settlement agreement Tuesday afternoon, the parties announced, narrowly heading off a trial shortly after the jury was sworn in.

“Fox has admitted to telling lies,” John Poulos, Dominion CEO, said at a news conference after the trial ended.

“Money is accountability,” [NO, it is not!] said Stephen Shackelford Jr., the attorney scheduled to give opening statements for Dominion on Tuesday.

Fox News, in a statement, said it acknowledged “the court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false.”

“This settlement reflects Fox’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards,” [sic] the network said. “We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues.”

Wow, this is the same “move forward” line they use to dismiss the January 6  MAGA/QAnon coup d’état incited by Donald Trump and to turn the insurrectionists into “patriots’ and “political prisoners.” We can see how this is going to go – right back to the same old lies, just leaving out the lies specific to Dominion Voting Systems.

The resolution came after the jury had been sat but before opening statements began.

“The parties have resolved their case,” Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said Tuesday afternoon, informing the jurors of the settlement. “That means your service is done and I’m going to excuse you. Sorry about making you wait.”

The deal ends a monthslong legal battle over whether the media company had defamed the voting machine maker when Fox broadcast election conspiracy theories in 2020.

Lawyers and media sat waiting in the courtroom for more than two hours after opening statements were scheduled to begin on Tuesday afternoon. Davis re-entered the courtroom just before 4 p.m. to announce the settlement with the lead attorneys on the case rushing in after him.

[T]he settlement comes after a bruising week for Fox News. During pretrial conference hearings, Davis sanctioned the network for withholding evidence, and admonished it for not being straightforward with him. He said he would allow Dominion to conduct an additional deposition with Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch at Fox’s expense. Davis also ruled that Fox lawyers could not use “newsworthiness” as a legal defense, limiting their possible trial strategies.

On Tuesday, Davis also appointed a special master to investigate whether Fox had adequately complied with court-ordered discovery.

Few defamation suits make it this far, but legal experts say the case — and the extraordinary claims and evidence fueling it — was unique.

Legal filings made thousands of pages of emails, text messages and other communications public, revealing that Fox News journalists, hosts and executives knew the bogus claims about the election were false, even as the network continued to put them on air.

The other voting machine company suing FOX News for defamation is Smartmatic. Fox News’ settlement with Dominion doesn’t mean the risk of embarrassment is over, with Smartmatic saying it ‘remains committed’ to its own defamation case against the network:

Fox News may have avoided — for now — the messy drama of its prime-time personalities being questioned over their false claims about voter fraud and the 2020 election. But another company suing it for defamation said Tuesday that it “remains committed” to holding the media outlet accountable for what it says are the harms it has caused to democracy around the globe.

By settling with Dominion Voting Systems on the first day of a planned trial in Delaware, Fox News — for the sum of $787.5 million— avoided the possibility that hosts such as Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity would have to take the stand and answer questions about whether they truly believed the opinions they espoused on television. The judge in the case had already ruled that Fox News had aired demonstrably false claims about Dominion, which originally sought $1.6 billion in damages. (In a statement, Fox News acknowledged the false statements and said the settlement reflected its “commitment to the highest journalistic standards.”[sic])

Despite ending in a settlement, the Dominion case seriously damaged Fox News’ reputation and embarrassed the likes of Carlson, for example, who it was revealed had tried to have a reporter at the network fired for accurately reporting that the 2020 election was not stolen. In internal deliberations, producers and executives admitted that the vote wasn’t rigged but expressed concern that they would lose their audience to far-right competitors if they did not promote former President Donald Trump’s false claims.

The risk of further embarrassment has not been completely avoided, however.

In February 2021, Smartmatic, which sells electronic voting technology, also sued Fox News and those who appeared on the network — including Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell — for defamation, claiming the network had “damaged democracy worldwide” by airing false reports suggesting the company had “fixed and rigged the 2020 election.”

Smartmatic was the subject of conspiracy theories, many hinging on its connection to Venezuela, with Powell claiming it had helped rig elections there. In fact, Smartmatic blew the whistle on fraud in Venezuela, revealing in 2017 that President Nicolas Maduro had “manipulated” the vote for a new, extra-constitutional assembly.

In a statement on Tuesday, an attorney for Smartmatic credited Dominion’s litigation with shedding light on Fox News’ internal deliberations — and promised more of the same.

Smartmatic should have access to all of the evidence  produced in the Dominion litigation, at cost.

“Dominion’s litigation exposed some of the misconduct and damage caused by Fox’s disinformation campaign,” J. Erik Connolly, an attorney at Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff said in a statement. “Smartmatic will expose the rest.”

The company is seeking $2.7 billion in damages. In addition to Powell and Giuliani, its lawsuit lists Fox News anchors Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro as defendants; Lou Dobbs, a host who left the network in 2021, is also named.

Not just witnesses, but named Defendants – subject to personal liability. Bankrupt these media whores!

In February, a New York appeals court, in a 5-0 decision, rejected Fox News’ effort to have the case dismissed and ruled that Giuliani and Pirro could remain as defendants. It also opened the door to adding Fox News’ parent company, the Fox Corporation, as a defendant. No trial date has been set.

Smartmatic’s case against Powell was last year moved to a court in Washington, DC.

“Smartmatic remains committed to clearing its name, recouping the significant damage done to the company, and holding Fox accountable for undermining democracy,” Connolly said.

Get ’em boys! I want to see you destroy and humiliate these FOX News propagandists – and Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani – on the stand, under oath, for all the world to see. That is how you hold these Coup Plotter co-conspirators and insurrectionists accountable at law. You  can also personally bankrupt them in the process, which would be satisfying.

UPDATE: Thank you Stephen Colbert.





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