Ex-Fox News Host Urges Dominion Not to Settle: 'About to Prove Something'

Former Fox News Host Gretchen Carlson urged Dominion Voting Systems against settling their defamation lawsuit against the network.

The highly anticipated trial between Fox News and Dominion was set to begin on Monday but was temporarily delayed by one day amid reports of possible settlement talks from the news network. Dominion sued Fox News for defamation, alleging the network's hosts knowingly made false claims that their voting machines were used to rig the 2020 presidential election in favor of President Joe Biden over former President Donald Trump, amplifying his unproven claims of voter fraud.

Several news outlets, including The Washington Post, Reuters and The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources, that the delay comes as Fox seeks to hold settlement talks in an effort to avoid the case going to trial.

Carlson, a longtime Fox News employee who previously sued and has voiced opposition to her former network, wrote on Twitter on Sunday night that Dominion should refuse any settlement and bring the case to trial.

"PLEASE Dominion --- Do not settle with Fox! You're about to prove something very big," Carlson tweeted.

Carlson did not specify what exactly Dominion would "prove" in the lawsuit. In a follow-up tweet, she said a nondisclosure agreement would prevent her from saying whether she was ever asked to make things up while working at Fox News.

"Here's my take on Fox-Dominion case-(as I'm sending telepathic messages to Dominion to not settle!) I can talk about the current case-but I can't then answer next logical question (b/c of my NDA)-'Did Fox ever ask you to make up s*** when you were there?' Therein lies the problem," she wrote.

Reuters reported that the trial is set to begin with its jury selection on Tuesday following the delay. A judge did not give a specific reason for the delay, and it remained unknown whether a settlement was still on the table.

Ahead of the trial, Fox News challenged Dominion's $1.6 billion figure, writing in a statement provided to Newsweek that Dominion "[knocked] more than a half a billion dollars off their damages claim" prior to the trial.

"FOX has made clear that Dominion's damages are wildly inflated which Dominion has now finally admitted at the 11th hour," the statement reads.

A Dominion spokesperson declined to comment on Carlson's remarks but refuted Fox News' claims about the lawsuit's $1.6 billion figure. The spokesperson told Newsweek on Monday, "The damages claim remains. As Fox well knows, our damages exceed $1.6B."

Fox News has denied that their coverage of the 2020 election contained "actual malice," the legal standard needed to prove defamation. In a previous statement to Newsweek, a spokesperson accused Dominion of mischaracterizing the record and using "cherry-picked quotes stripped of key context" in their suit.

Carlson in 2016 filed a lawsuit against former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes claiming sexual harassment, prompting others to also come forward with their own allegations. She ultimately settled that lawsuit, which was depicted in the film Bombshell, for $20 million and has since become an advocate against sexual harassment.

In a 2019 interview with BuzzFeed News, Carlson alleged that she was told to take positions she did not always agree with at Fox News.

"And with regard to Fox News, listen, we all have producers in the morning who set the agenda, and there are many times that you don't agree with what you're going to be saying that particular day," she said. "And you pick your battles."

Newsweek reached out to Carlson for comment via email.