Judge Denies Fox News Move to Dismiss Dominion’s Defamation Lawsuit: ‘Intended to Avoid the Truth’
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The judge presiding over Dominion’s $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News has denied its motion to dismiss.
Dominion Voting Systems, a company subject to a torrent of conspiracy theories from President Donald Trump and his allies seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election, filed a lawsuit against Fox News for $1.6 billion, alleging the network falsely claimed Dominion rigged the 2020 election.
That campaign to overturn the election — which was roundly rejected by courts but embraced by pro-Trump media — culminated in the January 6 attack on the Capitol, in which a horde of Trump supporters violently interrupted the certification of the 2020 vote by Congress.
Fox News filed a motion in New York Supreme court to dismiss this defamation suit, as well as the one filed against them by Smartmatic. The cable news network argued in its motion that its journalists were covering “both sides” of the 2020 election fraud conspiracy theory.
But the judge has denied the first motion. Today’s opinion stated “Unless otherwise indicated, the following facts are stated as alleged in the Complaint. For purposes of the Motion, the Court must view all well-pled facts alleged in the Complaint as true and in a light most favorable to Dominion.”
Law & Crime’s Aaron Keller reports more details:
“For purposes of the Motion, the Court must view all well-pled facts alleged in the Complaint as true and in a light most favorable to Dominion,” wrote Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis.
“If the plaintiff offers ‘some direct evidence’ that the statement ‘was probably false,’ the Court can infer that the defendant ‘inten[ded] to avoid the truth,’” the judge continued.
Fox News released the following statement in response:
“As we have maintained, FOX News, along with every single news organization across the country, vigorously covered the breaking news surrounding the unprecedented 2020 election, providing full context of every story with in-depth reporting and clear-cut analysis. We remain committed to defending against this baseless lawsuit and its all-out assault on the First Amendment.”
This is a developing story and will be updated…
