Judge in Dominion Defamation Case Warns Fox News Lawyers: ‘Newsworthiness’ Argument Won’t Fly at Trial
thewrap.comas a major contributor to the pile of examples Dominion says were defamatory; he also challenged the notion that Fox top brass had “no control” over guests and narratives presented on cable’s most-watched network.Though it might seem like Davis has only been dealing losses to Fox, he has agreed with them on one major point: That the Jan.
6 Capitol riot, which happened after the alleged defamation, is not relevant, and should not be discussed at any length, in part because it could “prejudice” the jury against the network.But Davis’ skepticism around the “newsworthiness” argument, which Fox has been repeatedly signaling it would pursue, could be an issue for Fox attorneys.
Davis went as far as to say he would “rebuke” attempts to evoke the newsworthiness argument in the presence of jurors. Davis went on a “riff,” Wemple reported, “pointing out that Dominion could quite easily – very easily – exploit Fox News’s newsworthiness defense in cross-examination.”He suggested that among other things, Dominion lawyers cross-examining Fox witnesses could simply ask them why they didn’t have guests who upheld the integrity of the election – why not Joe Biden himself? “I love this cross … I could have a lot of fun with this case,” Davis said with a chuckle.Dominion is asking for $1.6 billion in damages for what it says are defamatory statements about its voting machines in multiple reports, guest segments and host commentary.
Read more on thewrap.com