More bad news for Fox News….

Rupert Murdoch May Be Compelled to Testify in Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Against Fox News and Fox Corp.

A judge has asserted that Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old chairman of Fox News and Fox Corp., may be compelled to take the stand in Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News and parent company Fox Corp. The lawsuit centers around allegations that Fox News aired baseless claims that Dominion’s voting machines helped steal the 2020 election from former president Donald Trump. Dominion has argued that Murdoch understood the allegations to be false but chose not to stop them for business reasons.

Fox News had submitted a letter to the judge requesting that Murdoch, along with his son Lachlan Murdoch, Fox Corp. chief legal and policy officer Viet D. Dinh, and former House speaker Paul D. Ryan, a board member, not be compelled to testify at the trial, citing hardships and an undue burden given their limited knowledge of pertinent facts. However, Dominion argued that the elder Murdoch is extremely relevant to its case.

Judge Eric M. Davis has not yet made a ruling but suggested that Murdoch, who holds a special role at Fox Corp., may be able to be compelled to testify. He expressed a preference for “live testimony,” but also suggested that Zoom could be used.

Despite Fox’s claims that Murdoch delegates decision-making about the network’s programming, Dominion has surfaced examples of him weighing in on editorial matters, such as a decision to part ways with Fox Business Network host Lou Dobbs. In a Jan. 19 deposition, Murdoch said he had “only recently” learned about Dominion. But Dominion argues that the chairman was well aware of the allegations being made against the company.

“This case is Mr. Murdoch making a decision over and over again that they’re going to allow these folks on the air and they’re going to spew these false conspiracy theories until they wouldn’t,” said Dominion lawyer Justin A. Nelson.

The trial is scheduled to begin on April 17.

H/T Washington Post