Fox News hires new legal counsel in defamation case with Dominion
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Fox Information has added a new law firm as part of its lawful staff in its battle with Dominion Voting Devices, which is suing the cable information big for defamation just after it aired false claims about voter fraud following the 2020 election.
Fox has hired Dan Webb, a veteran protection lawyer and significant-profile law firm, as element of its authorized group as it moves to have the case introduced by Dominion dismissed.
Webb is the former United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois and was the distinctive counsel investigating the Iran-Contra scandal of the 1980s. Extra just lately, he was appointed to provide as special counsel investigating how officers in Chicago handled a circumstance involving actor Jussie Smollett.
Webb’s “vast encounter in demo litigation will add depth to our authorized group, guaranteeing the safety of the Very first Amendment and the essential suitable to a free press continue to be intact,” Fox explained in a assertion to The Hill on Wednesday.
Late past thirty day period, a Exceptional Court docket Choose in Delaware denied a movement from Fox Corp. to dismiss the accommodate, expressing Dominion had adequately shown Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, who individual and operate Fox News’s dad or mum organization, might have knowingly allowed unproven claims about voter fraud to be aired on the channel.
In a court filing, Dominion argued the Murdochs “decided to encourage former President Trump’s narrative right after Trump’s condemnation of Fox destroyed its inventory and viewership.”
Fox’s lawful workforce has sought to have the case dismissed on First Modification grounds, arguing quite a few of the untrue claims about voter fraud aired by the network were designed by guests on the channel.
“Limiting the skill of the press to report freely on the American election approach stands in stark contrast to the liberties on which this country was started,” Fox explained in a assertion on Wednesday, adding it was “confident we will prevail in this situation as the To start with Amendment is the foundation of our democracy and freedom of the push ought to be safeguarded.”
Fox is also struggling with a lawsuit from a independent voting systems organization, Smartmatic, over equivalent claims about voter fraud. Both Dominion and Smartmatic have sued other smaller sized cable information channels, which includes 1 The usa Information and Newsmax, over promises designed on those people networks about the corporations and their software package.
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