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Dominion Voting Systems sued Fox News for $1.6 billion for making false statements about its voting machines.
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The judge recently indicated he would not allow mention of January 6 at the trial.
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A jury is set to hear the case in late April.
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Fox News denies any wrongdoing.
(NewsReady.com) – After the 2020 election, allegations of voter fraud dominated the headlines. Many Republicans believed then-President Donald Trump did not lose the election. The 45th POTUS’ legal team actually filed multiple lawsuits in various states to overturn the results and have him declared the winner. During this time, Fox News aired allegations of voting machines changing votes from Trump to Joe Biden. That has caused a major headache for the network.
Dominion Voting Systems is currently in the midst of a $1.6-billion lawsuit against Fox News. A judge recently issued a decision that could benefit the conservative network.
Not Allowed
During an April 5 hearing, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis held a hearing about which witnesses would be compelled to testify in court. He also heard an argument about the possibility of banning any mentions of the January 6, 2021, riots from the trial. Fox News’ lawyers argued mentioning the events of that day would be irrelevant since it had nothing to do with the claims about the voting machines during the election.
According to Mediaite, the judge said he didn’t see the Capitol riot as being “relevant” in the case. He said that the case against Fox News “is very focused on a specific time,” and he doesn’t believe anything to do with that day is related to the lawsuit. The judge indicated he believed mentions of the riots would be unfairly prejudicial.
Recent Developments
At the end of March, Davis issued a separate ruling that has been widely reported as being bad for Fox News. The judge ruled that nearly two dozen statements made by on-air talent about Dominion were false, and he would inform the jury that they did not have to make a determination as to whether the statements were true because they were demonstrably wrong.
NPR reported Davis wrote in his opinion that the evidence presented is “CRYSTAL clear that none of the Statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true.” The judge also ruled against the network’s argument that it was just providing “neutral reporting.” He said that the hosts of the shows gave the statements “credibility and even affirmed them.”
Fox News argues the case is a threat to the First Amendment of the United States and free speech.
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