A Delaware judge yesterday delayed the start of the trial by one day in a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit brought by voting machine company Dominion Voting Systems against US broadcaster Fox News, a court spokesman said.
Davis said Thursday he expects 12 juror and 12 representative selection to be completed today and opening statements to begin. The trial is one of the most watched defamation cases in the US in years. Dominion sued Fox News in March 2021.
False claims against better knowledge?
The company accuses the broadcaster of having spread former US President Donald Trump’s false claim that Dominion voting machines were used to “fake” the 2020 presidential election – even though the broadcaster knew full well that the allegations were unfounded.
Fox News claims it merely reported on Trump’s statements and did not endorse them. The broadcaster relies on the first US constitutional amendment, which protects freedom of expression. According to a court document that became public at the end of February, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, the owner of Fox News, admitted under oath that prominent Fox News presenters had “supported” false allegations of voter fraud in their programs after the November 2020 presidential election.
