By Randall Chase
A voting machine company’s defamation case against Fox News over its airing of false allegations about the 2020 presidential election will go to trial after a Delaware judge on Friday allowed a jury to decide whether the conservative network aired the claims with actual malice, the standard for proving libel.
Superior Court Judge Eric Davis ruled that neither Fox nor Dominion Voting Systems had presented a convincing argument to prevail on whether Fox acted with malice without the case going to a jury. But he also ruled that the statements Dominion had challenged constitute defamation “per se” under New York law. That means Dominion did not have to prove damages to establish liability by Fox.
“The evidence developed in this civil proceeding demonstrates that (it) is CRYSTAL clear that none of the statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true,” Davis wrote in his summary judgment ruling.
The decision paves the way for a trial start in mid-April.
Dominion is suing the network for $1.6 billion, claiming Fox defamed it by repeatedly airing false claims about the company’s machines and its accompanying software. Court records and testimony revealed that many Fox hosts and executives didn’t believe the claims but continued to air them.
Fox has said it was simply covering very newsworthy allegations. The coverage fed an ecosystem of misinformation surrounding former President Donald Trump’s loss in 2020 that has persisted ever since.
The Supreme Court says it will not immediately take up a plea by special counsel Jack Smith to rule on whether former President Donald Trump can be prosecuted for his actions to overturn the 2020 election results.
A Congressional oversight committee has opened an investigation into the safety of an Osprey aircraft, weeks after a deadly crash off the coast of Japan that killed eight airmen.
Cuba announced tough economic measures for 2024 with increased prices for fuel and essential services.
Florida Gov. and presidential hopeful Ron Desantis says that he thinks the Republican primary would be different if former president Donald Trump wasn't indicted.
Rudy Giuliani has filed for bankruptcy, days after being ordered to pay $148 million in a defamation lawsuit.
The top military officer in the United States met with his Chinese counterpart for the first time in over a year.
A judge ordered former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani immediately to start paying the judgment against him for the former Georgia election workers that he defamed.
Lawyers for former president Donald Trump requested that the Supreme Court avoid taking on an appeal about whether Trump has immunity for his actions challenging the 2020 election results.
President Joe Biden said there's no question former President Donald Trump supported an insurrection but wouldn't give an opinion on Colorado banning Trump from the ballot.
Hamas says it will not negotiate for the release of any additional hostages until Israel's operation in Gaza ends.
