Fox News Apologizes to Dominion Judge After Getting Sanctioned for Withheld Evidence: ‘This Was a Misunderstanding’
AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File
Fox News formally offered an apology to the judge presiding over Dominion Voting System’s $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against the channel. The apology stems from an admission from recent days that Rupert Murdoch holds the official status of Fox News corporate officer, in addition to his position as Fox Corp. chairman.
Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis sanctioned the network last week during a pretrial hearing where concerns were raised that Fox News had withheld evidence, including details about Murdoch’s role. ABC News has reported that Fox attorney Blake Rohrbacher submitted a letter to the court that called the matter a “misunderstanding,” and to say Fox “understand[s] the Court’s concerns, apologize, and are committed to clear and full communication with the Court moving forward.”
While Murdoch’s Fox Corp chairmanship is well-known, Dominion’s legal team has argued that the murkiness surrounding his Fox News corporate officer role not only contradicts what he said in his deposition, but it has made it more difficult for Dominion to obtain evidence on him. Murdoch has been a major recurring figure of interest for the trial ever since he admitted under oath that Fox News hosts promoted 2020 election lies.
The letter to Davis comes after the judge expressed his displeasure with Fox News not being more forthcoming with information relevant to the Dominion case as it’s about to go to trial. ABC reports that Rohrbacher used his letter to say Fox “never intended to omit information from earlier submissions to the Court or to fail to fully respond to the Court’s questions.”
From the report:
“This was a misunderstanding,” the letter continued.
In its letter, however, Fox pushed back on the idea that the omission hurt Dominion.
“With regards to Dominion’s contention that it has been prejudiced, Fox disagrees and respectfully requests an opportunity to address and respond to that contention after Dominion seeks written relief from the Court,” the letter said.
A Fox News spokesperson offered this comment to Mediaite:
Dominion’s lawsuit is a political crusade in search of a financial windfall, but the real cost would be cherished first amendment rights. While Dominion has pushed irrelevant and misleading information to generate headlines, Fox News remains steadfast in protecting the rights of a free press, given a verdict for Dominion and its private equity owners would have grave consequences for the entire journalism profession.
