Fox News producer alleges network coerced her into giving misleading testimony on Dominion

A Fox News shaper connected Monday filed lawsuits against the network, alleging its lawyers coerced her into providing misleading grounds successful the Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6 cardinal defamation lawsuit against the network.

The suit was filed Monday nighttime by Abby Grossberg, who worked with Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson and Maria Bartiromo, against the web in New York and Delaware. Grossberg alleged that Fox News lawyers "coerced, intimidated, and misinformed" arsenic they prepared her to attest successful Dominion Voting Systems' defamation suit. 

"Ms. Grossberg near the deposition mentation sessions without knowing that by giving specified false/misleading and evasive answers similar the ones Fox's ineligible squad reacted to positively to during the prep sessions, she not lone opened herself up to civilian and transgression liability for perjury, but was subtly shifting each work for the alleged defamation against Dominion onto her shoulders, and by implication, those of her trusted pistillate colleague, Ms. Bartiromo, alternatively than the mostly antheral higher ups astatine Fox News who endorsed the repeated sum of the lies against the Dominion," the suit said.

Grossberg besides alleged a "toxic workplace" civilization of favoritism portion moving astatine Fox News. She claimed she was "isolated, overworked, undervalued, denied opportunities for promotion, and mostly treated importantly worse than her antheral counterparts, adjacent erstwhile those men were little qualified than her," and that the web retaliated against her aft she complained astir the "unlawful harassment (based connected her sex and Jewish religion)."

Her suit besides claimed that she experienced "vile sexist stereotypes" and that pistillate workers were "verbally violated connected astir a regular ground by a poisonous and entrenched patriarchy."

Fox News denied Grossberg's claims successful a statement.

"FOX News Media engaged an autarkic extracurricular counsel to instantly analyse the concerns raised by Ms. Grossberg, which were made pursuing a captious show review. Her allegations successful transportation with the Dominion lawsuit are baseless and we volition vigorously support Fox against each of her claims," Irena Briganti, elder enforcement vice president of firm communications for Fox News Media, said.

Fox News connected Monday nighttime sought a temporary restraining order against Grossberg, which the web said would forestall her from disclosing privileged information. The web argued that it would endure "immediate irreparable harm" if the bid isn't granted. A justice has not ruled connected the bid yet.

"Ms. Grossberg has threatened to disclose Fox's attorney-client privileged accusation and we filed a impermanent restraining bid to support our rights," Briganti said successful a statement.

In a statement, Grossman's lawyers, Parisis "Gerry" Filippatos and Tanvir Rahman, said their lawsuit was placed connected "administrative leave" aft she told the web that she was astir to record these lawsuits, arsenic alleged successful her complaint. 

"Ms. Grossberg has refused to beryllium silenced and bullied by Fox News, aft having to endure for years what she alleges was a workplace rampant with sexism and misogyny, wherever men were routinely promoted over, paid more, and provided acold much resources and unit than much qualified women some successful beforehand of and down the camera," they said. 

"Worse, Ms. Grossberg alleges that she was manipulated and utilized arsenic a pawn by Fox News's lawyers to displacement the blasted for the Network's broadcasting of mendacious accusation astir Dominion Voting Systems onto women similar her and Maria Bartiromo, simply to support the Network's predominantly antheral higher ups who controlled the contented and guests that were and were not allowed to aerial connected the channel," they added. "Our steadfast is committed to vindicating Fox's egregious usurpation of Ms. Grossberg's rights."

Grossberg's suit was filed a time earlier a key proceeding successful Dominion's lawsuit against Fox News, erstwhile a Delaware justice considers whether to regularisation connected immoderate portion of the lawsuit up of a assemblage trial.

Dominion sued Fox for defamation successful March 2021, alleging it caused "severe damage" by giving oxygen to conspiracy theories it knew were false, including that Dominion instrumentality was utilized to rig the 2020 predetermination for Joe Biden, that it was tied to the precocious Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and that it bribed U.S. authorities officials.

Evidence released arsenic portion of the defamation suit earlier this period hinted astatine Grossberg's enactment life.

"I publication and constitute each of Sunda [sic] Morning Futures alone, truthful cognize what it's similar to tally lean!" she wrote successful an email sent successful September 2020, pressing a researcher to nonstop her a information point.

"I didn't recognize you were conscionable arsenic slammed arsenic me," she added. "Sometimes, I besides conscionable privation to marque definite I person the close info and americium tallying it right, since I'm the past enactment earlier air."

— Hayley Walker contributed.