Fox News Faces 'Absolute Disaster' in Dominion Lawsuit: Ex-Prosecutor

Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti assessed the ongoing defamation case filed by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News on Sunday, saying the conservative network is facing "absolute disaster."

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit say that Fox News supported former President Donald Trump's widespread voter fraud claims during the 2020 presidential election while allegedly knowing they were untrue. Text messages released as part of the $1.6 billion lawsuit also revealed that some of the network's hosts and executives were casting doubt on the former president's election fraud claims as well.

The lawsuit alleges that Trump's allies claimed, without evidence, that Dominion "flipped" votes from Trump to President Joe Biden, delivering him victories in key swing states. Fox News has defended itself against these allegations and said it was not obliged to cover Trump's voter fraud claims.

Dominion said in a March 27 court filing that it wants Fox Corporate Chairman Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan to testify as witnesses before a jury during the trial this month. The company asked for testimonies from Fox News hosts including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Lou Dobbs, Bret Baier, Maria Bartiromo, Jeanine Pirro, and Dana Perino. Eric Davis, the Delaware Superior Court judge presiding over the case, recently suggested he could compel 92-year-old Murdoch to appear in court, according to The Guardian.

MSNBC host Ayman Mohyeldin asked Mariotti on Sunday whether or not Fox News hosts testifying in the case would set the network up for failure, especially when they are asked about private text messages related to the lawsuit.

"I have to say this is just an absolute disaster for Fox," Mariotti responded, adding that some individuals working at the network "essentially admitted that they were putting lies on the air."

Though Mariotti didn't specify who he was referring to, a recent court filing revealed that Murdoch said during a recent deposition that specific hosts at Fox News supported the "false notion" that the 2020 presidential election was "stolen" from Trump, including Dobbs, Bartiromo, Pirro, and Hannity.

Mariotti said the lawyers representing Dominion made a "masterful" move by asking for Murdoch to testify in the case.

"They're trying to put pressure on Fox News...I mean if you're Rupert Murdoch, do you want to be on the witness stand answering questions trying to explain the inexplicable and defend the indefensible? This of course gives an incentive for Fox to cave, to settle, to pony up to Dominion. It is a very smart move by Dominion there," said Mariotti. The former federal prosecutor added that Dominion's case seems to be "very well put together" in which "actual malice" is achievable.

Commenting on Mariotti's remarks, a Fox News media spokesperson told Newsweek on Sunday that "Dominion clearly wants to continue generating misleading stories from their friends in the media to distract from their weak case. Demanding witnesses who had nothing to do with the challenged broadcasts is just the latest example of their political crusade in search of a financial windfall."

A Fox News media spokesperson told Newsweek last month that the Dominion's case is built on baseless facts and an "unsupported" view of the defamation law, and that the core of the case is about freedom of the press and freedom of speech.

"Dominion's lawsuit has always been more about what will generate headlines than what can withstand legal and factual scrutiny, as illustrated by them now being forced to slash their fanciful damages demand by more than half a billion dollars after their own expert debunked its implausible claims," the spokesperson said at the time.

Update 4/9/2023, 4:03 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include comments from a Fox News media spokesperson.