Fox News hosts deposed in voting tech company’s $1.6 billion lawsuit against network
By Oliver Darcy, CNN Business
Some of the biggest stars at Fox News have been deposed in recent days as a voting technology company presses forward in its $1.6 billion lawsuit against the right-wing talk channel.
Lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems notified Fox News last week that it would be deposing host Tucker Carlson Wednesday, court filings show. They also sought Sean Hannity’s deposition last week, and Fox Business Network host Maria Bartiromo is scheduled to appear for a deposition next week, according to court filings.
Each of the hosts are specifically mentioned in Dominion’s complaint against the network.
The depositions come as Dominion works to gather evidence that supports its case that the network defamed the company by spreading lies about fraud in the 2020 election that hurt Dominion’s business. It’s unclear what the Fox News personalities who have sat with Dominion lawyers said or were questioned about during their depositions.
Dominion has alleged the network “recklessly disregarded the truth” and participated in a disinformation campaign against it because “the lies were good for Fox’s business.”
Fox News has contested such claims and said it was “proud” of its 2020 election coverage.
“We are confident we will prevail as freedom of the press is foundational to our democracy and must be protected,” a Fox News spokesperson said in a statement about the depositions.
The network added, “In addition to the damages claims being outrageous, unsupported and not rooted in sound financial analysis, serving as nothing more than a flagrant attempt to deter our journalists from doing their jobs.”
A spokesperson for Dominion did not immediately have a comment.
Last December, a Delaware judge denied Fox News’ motion to dismiss Dominion’s lawsuit.
In the immediate aftermath of the 2020 election, then-President Donald Trump falsely asserted that the election had been rigged against him. His allies promoted outlandish conspiracy theories about Dominion to support Trump’s false claims.
“Fox took a small flame” of disinformation and “turned it into a forest fire,” Dominion said in its lawsuit.
“The truth matters. Lies have consequences,” Dominion’s lawsuit added. “Fox sold a false story of election fraud in order to serve its own commercial purposes, severely injuring Dominion in the process. If this case does not rise to the level of defamation by a broadcaster, then nothing does.”
Dominion is one of two election technology companies to have sued Fox News. Smartmatic, another voting technology company, has filed a $2.7 billion lawsuit against the network.
The-CNN-Wire
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