() — The judge in charge of the historic defamation case between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems announced Tuesday that the parties have reached an agreement. “The parties have settled their case,” said Judge Eric Davis of the Delaware Superior Court.
The deal is worth $787.5 million, Dominion attorney Justin Nelson said. And it represents “vindication and responsibility,” Nelson said at a press conference after news of the pact broke.
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement on our dispute with Dominion Voting Systems,” Fox News said in a statement. “We acknowledge the court rulings that found certain claims about Dominion to be false. This agreement reflects FOX’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards. We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, rather than the acrimony of a divisive lawsuit, will enable the country to move forward from these issues.”
“Fox admitted to telling lies about Dominion, which did enormous harm to my company, our employees and the customers we serve,” John Poulos, CEO of Dominion Voting Systems, said at a news conference Tuesday by the afternoon. “Nothing can make up for that.”
“I cannot thank the election officials we serve enough. Without them, there is no democracy,” she added.
Fox News will not have to admit on the air that it told lies in the election about Dominion Voting Systems as part of the terms of their agreement, a Dominion representative told .
Fox News did acknowledge in its statement that falsehoods were broadcast. But, as part of the deal, the right-wing talk channel’s top hosts will not be required to admit to lies aired after the 2020 election.
The settlement between Fox News and Dominion was apparently negotiated at the last minute as opening statements in the trial in Wilmington, Delaware, were nearing the start. After jurors were sworn in earlier Tuesday, an unexplained delay of several hours brought court proceedings to a halt. Which, once again, sparked rampant speculation that a deal was being quietly worked on.
This last minute deal implies that the case is over and the trial will not continue. By settling with Dominion, influential Fox News executives and prominent on-air personalities avoid having to testify about their coverage of the 2020 election, which was riddled with lies about voter fraud.
In its lawsuit, Dominion sought $1.6 billion in damages from Fox News. The television network argued fiercely in pre-trial proceedings that this figure was inflated and did not come close to accurately reflecting the potential losses Dominion might have suffered as a result of Fox’s 2020 broadcasts.
Fox News and Fox Corporation, its parent company, which was also charged, asserted in the case that they never slandered Dominion and that the lawsuit is a meritless attack on press freedom. They denied Dominion’s claim that they promoted these election conspiracies to salvage their declining ratings after the 2020 election.
While the Dominion case is over, Fox News is still facing a second major defamation lawsuit from Smartmatic, another voting technology company that was defamed on Fox shows after the 2020 election. That case is still ongoing. discovery process and a trial is not expected any time soon.
Dominion Voting Systems still has pending lawsuits against the right-wing networks Newsmax and OAN, as well as Trump allies Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and Mike Lindell.
All of these parties and entities deny any wrongdoing and are challenging the claims.
