Fox News CEO to be deposed in Dominion defamation lawsuit for pushing election lies: report
Fox News Chief Executive Officer Suzanne Scott is expected to be deposed in the $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit filed against the media giant by Dominion Voting Systems, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.
Dominion is suing Fox along with allies of former President Donald Trump for claiming that its electronic voting machines stole votes from Trump and switched them to then-Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in the 2020 election. The allegations are but one facet of Trump World's debunked conspiracy theories that the contest between the twice-impeached ex-president and Biden was rigged and rife with fraud.
In this case, Scott "has emerged as one of the central figures in the $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox by Dominion Voting Systems, in which the voting company accuses Fox executives of juicing ratings and profits by repeatedly airing false information about Dominion," the Times explained. "According to several people closely involved in the case, lawyers for Dominion are expected to depose her soon. A judge has granted Dominion access to her emails and text messages from the period after the 2020 election when Fox anchors and guests amplified some of the most outrageous falsehoods about Dominion and its supposed role in a plot to steal the election."
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But as the Times pointed out, the pro-Trump messaging that Fox has been promulgating do not necessarily reflect Scott's personal views, which could lead to hefty consequences for the network.
The aforementioned communications "contained at least one instance in which Ms. Scott expressed skepticism about the dubious claims of voter fraud that her network had been promoting, a recent court proceeding revealed. That kind of evidence is what Dominion hopes will ultimately convince a jury that Fox broadcast information it knew to be false, which would leave the company on the hook for significant damages," noted the Times.
Scott has also expressed skepticism about Trump's numerous denials about losing to Biden.
"One colleague recalled that in a meeting shortly after the 2020 election, Ms. Scott seemed in disbelief as she described how people she considered otherwise serious and rational thought there was any chance Mr. Trump could legitimately stop President Biden’s inauguration," the Times wrote, adding that Scott had "warned against 'giving the crazies an inch.'"
Fox, meanwhile, maintains that its broadcasts are protected under the free speech protections in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
"There is nothing more newsworthy than covering the president of the United States and his lawyers making allegations,” Fox News Media said in a statement.
Dominion disagrees with that assessment.
“If it were up to Fox, the more ‘newsworthy’ the lie, the greater their right to spread it,” a Dominion spokeswoman said. “However, the First Amendment does not give broadcasters the right to knowingly spread lies or disregard the truth.”
