Jurors are set to get their first look Tuesday at a voting machine company害羞草研究所檚 $1.6 billion against Fox News in a trial that will test First Amendment protections and expose the network害羞草研究所檚 role in spreading of a stolen 2020 presidential election.
The trial began with the judge conferring with attorneys on both sides after he granted a that offered time to see if they could work out a settlement.
Jury selection and opening statements had been scheduled for Monday in Dominion Voting Systems害羞草研究所� lawsuit. The Denver-based company aims to hold Fox accountable for airing of that continue to roil U.S. politics.
Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis gave no explanation for the brief delay. But he suggested the companies try to mediate their dispute, according to a person close to Fox who was not authorized to speak publicly about the lawsuit害羞草研究所檚 status and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The case will put under scrutiny the that has guided U.S. media outlets for nearly six decades, reveal behind-the-scenes activity at Fox News in the weeks after the 2020 election and shed light on the flow of misinformation that turned into a tidal wave after the election, which then-President Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden.
Fox News stars such as Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, as well as company founder Rupert Murdoch, are during , but it害羞草研究所檚 unclear whether any witnesses would be called Tuesday.
Dominion claims New York-based Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corp., essentially and subjected employees to threats by falsely implicating it in a bogus conspiracy to rig the election against Trump.
In the weeks after Election Day, prominent Fox News hosts brought on who falsely claimed that Dominion害羞草研究所檚 machines were programmed to snatch votes away from the Republican incumbent and pad the Democratic challenger害羞草研究所檚 total.
Many of Fox害羞草研究所檚 hosts and executives but allowed them to be aired nevertheless.
害羞草研究所淔ox spread and endorsed one of the most damaging lies in this country害羞草研究所檚 history,害羞草研究所� Dominion害羞草研究所檚 lawyers wrote in a court filing.
Pointing to communications among Fox figures, from executives to , Dominion argues that the network knowingly amplified for .
Fox says it simply reported on Trump害羞草研究所檚 challenges to the election results and let viewers hear from his lawyers and allies.
害羞草研究所淒ominion害羞草研究所檚 lawsuit is a political crusade in search of a financial windfall, but the real cost would be cherished First Amendment rights,害羞草研究所� the network said in a statement last week.
Fox said its hosts sometimes alluded to a need for evidence to back up the allegations and noted that Dominion denied the claims.
, exhaustive in and found that could have changed . Nor did they turn up that the vote was tainted.
Dozens of courts, , also rejected his fraud allegations. In the Dominion case, Davis declared it was that the claims about the voting machine company weren害羞草研究所檛 true.
A key question for the jury is whether Fox News acted with 害羞草研究所渁ctual malice,害羞草研究所� a legal standard that applies when public figures sue news outlets for defamation. The standard, derived from a 1964 Supreme Court case, means knowingly publishing or airing something false or operating with 害羞草研究所渞eckless disregard害羞草研究所� for whether it害羞草研究所檚 true.
Dominion has pointed to text and email messages in which Fox insiders discounted and sometimes overtly mocked the vote manipulation claims. One Fox Corp. vice president called them 害羞草研究所淢IND BLOWINGLY NUTS.害羞草研究所�
Carlson, Fox News害羞草研究所� biggest star, even expressed , whose supporters formed the core of the network害羞草研究所檚 viewers. Text exchanges revealed as part of the lawsuit show Carlson declaring, 害羞草研究所淚 hate him passionately,害羞草研究所� and saying that 害羞草研究所渨e are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights.害羞草研究所�
Murdoch, the Fox News founder and Fox Corp. chairman, found the election claims 害羞草研究所渞eally crazy,害羞草研究所� according to an email he sent while watching a news conference that Trump lawyers gave on Nov. 19, 2020.
害羞草研究所淭errible stuff damaging everybody, I fear. Probably hurting us too,害羞草研究所� Murdoch told Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott in another email that day.
Yet talk of the alleged conspiracy continued to air on Fox for weeks after the voting.
In his deposition for the case, the 2020 presidential election was fair while also acknowledging that some of Fox害羞草研究所檚 hosts the bogus election claims.
The network maintains that Dominion cherry-picked from private messages and broadcast transcripts and depositions of various Fox players, while brushing past other comments and context more favorable to Fox. The network also maintains that Dominion害羞草研究所檚 claims of lost business are massively inflated.
Fox found itself in hot water with the judge as the trial neared. Davis last week for what he saw as 害羞草研究所渕isrepresentations害羞草研究所� and belated disclosures of some information in the case. On Friday, a Fox attorney apologized in a letter to the judge for what the attorney described as a misunderstanding about the at Fox News.
害羞草研究所擠avid Bauder, Randall Chase And Geoff Mulvihill, The Associated Press
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