During a recent episode of his program, Howard Kurtz, a Fox News host, admitted that his network had a “rough week” in court after a judge sanctioned its legal team for likely withholding evidence in a defamation case brought by Dominion Voting Systems. Delaware superior court judge Eric Davis is now considering appointing a special master in the case due to deception on the part of Fox News’ attorneys.
Despite working for Fox News, Kurtz promised to provide “fair and down-the-middle coverage” of the $1.6 billion suit about false election fraud claims made in 2020. “And with that, it’s been a very rough week for Fox,” he added.
In pretrial rulings, Judge Davis also undercut part of Fox’s defense, saying that Fox News cannot argue that it carried false allegations of election fraud by Trump allies because they were newsworthy. “Just because someone is newsworthy doesn’t mean you can defame someone,” Judge Davis said.
Kurtz read a statement prepared by Fox News in response to the ruling, which said that Dominion’s lawsuit is a “political crusade” in search of a financial windfall, and that a verdict for Dominion and its private equity owners would have “grave consequences for the entire journalism profession.”
The case may well turn on the jury’s view of whether Fox acted with actual malice, which is generally a high bar for plaintiffs until now. As the case continues to unfold, it remains to be seen how Fox News will respond and whether its legal team will be held accountable for any wrongdoing.
