The American media group Fox pays $ 787.5 million to the voting machine company

The conservative American media group Fox has reached an amicable settlement with voting machine manufacturer Dominion over a compensation of 787.5 million dollars (almost 720 million euros). The amount means rehabilitation and accountability, Dominion attorney Justin Nelson said after Tuesday’s settlement. “Lies have consequences.” Dominion CEO John Poulos said Fox has admitted to spreading lies about Dominion that have caused massive damage to its company, employees and customers. Fox said on its website that the agreement reflects Fox’s commitment to “upholding the highest standards of journalism.”

Dominion had originally sought $1.6 billion (about $1.5 billion) in the lawsuit because Fox News had spread reports of alleged tampering of the voting machines. The station’s management, citing freedom of the press, insisted it had legitimately reproduced as news the accounts of then-US President Donald Trump and his lawyers. Dominion, on the other hand, wanted to prove that Fox News was deliberately broadcasting false news.

Revelations about the 2020 presidential election

The trial did not begin until Tuesday morning (local time) with the selection of the jury. Opening statements from both sides were then expected before noon. Instead, there was a delay of several hours during which, according to journalists, lawyers from both sides negotiated with each other in court. Cameras were not allowed during the trial. Only the sound was broadcast outside the courtroom. More than two hours after the scheduled start of the hearing, the presiding judge, Eric Davis, dismissed the jury, saying, “The parties have resolved the matter.”

Moments later, Dominion’s lawyers and boss appeared before the press outside the courthouse in the city of Wilmington, Delaware and announced the details of the deal. It came as a surprise to many observers that the amount of the compensation was announced. This is often not the case with such agreements.

Fox Hosts Are Deliberately Spreading Lies About Election 2020

The case was followed closely in the United States. He had already revealed spectacular insights into the relationship between the conservative American television channel Fox News and former US president Donald Trump. Fox’s owner, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, has admitted that some of his moderators knowingly spread lies about the 2020 presidential election, according to US media court documents that echo Murdoch’s affidavit from early February. “Some of our commentators agreed,” the 92-year-old said, citing false claims that the election was stolen from then-incumbent Donald Trump.

However, he himself had serious doubts about these claims, explains Murdoch. He could have stopped the appearances of supporters of the defeated Trump who spread the lie about voter fraud on Fox after the election, Murdoch said. “But I didn’t do it,” he confessed.

“I Hate Him Passionately”

Other spicy details from the interior of the media group were also known before the trial. For example, the highly regarded TV presenter Tucker Carlson, who openly supported Trump on his programs, “hated” the ex-president behind the scenes, US media reported, citing the court documents. Carlson texted an employee two months after the 2020 presidential election: “We are very, very close to ignoring Trump most nights. I really can’t wait. I hate him passionately.”

Fox may also have agreed to pay damages to avoid further embarrassing revelations. The judge in the case sanctioned Fox before the trial began because the station failed to provide evidence, NBC reported. Davis said he would allow Dominion to question Murdoch again.

More lawsuits

The settlement with Fox could also signal further libel lawsuits that Dominion has filed against other conservative news networks and several individuals. “We’re not done yet,” Dominion attorney Nelson said Tuesday. In addition to Fox, Dominion has also filed lawsuits against lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell and businessman Mike Lindell, all of whom are Trump associates. They had alleged without evidence that Dominion had used the election software to manipulate the vote in favor of Trump’s challenger Joe Biden.

To this day, Trump refuses to admit defeat to Biden. He claims without any evidence that he was deprived of an election victory by fraud. His allies at the time also spread the accusations and filed several lawsuits, all of which failed. (oee/sda/dpa)