Rupert Murdoch suggested Fox News hosts 'went too far' regarding false election fraud claims

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Members of Rise and Resist enactment successful their play "Truth Tuesday" protestation astatine News Corp office connected February 21, 2023 successful New York City. 

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More revelations from Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch's testimony, arsenic good arsenic grounds gathered from Fox executives and TV hosts successful the months pursuing the 2020 election, came to airy connected Tuesday arsenic portion of Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6 cardinal defamation lawsuit.

Hundreds of pages of gathered grounds from some sides – including afloat excerpts of grounds from depositions, substance messages and emails – were published connected Tuesday, providing glimpses into the back-and-forth astatine the right-wing TV web successful the months pursuing the 2020 election.

"Maybe Sean [Hannity] and Laura [Ingraham] went excessively far. All precise good for Sean to archer you helium was successful despair astir Trump but what did helium archer his viewers?" Murdoch said successful an email to Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott connected Jan. 21, 2021, successful an evident notation to Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham. The speech came 15 days aft the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.

A Delaware justice ordered the documents unsealed. While portions of the depositions and grounds person been released successful caller weeks, Tuesday's filings are the astir extended revelations regarding backstage communications astatine Fox Corp. and Fox News.

Dominion has argued successful its suit that Fox and its ring-wing cablegram TV channels and endowment falsely claimed that its voting machines rigged the results of the 2020 election. 

Fox News connected Tuesday said the documents it filed showed "Dominion has been caught reddish handed utilizing much distortions and misinformation successful their PR run to smear FOX News and trample connected escaped code and state of the press. We already cognize they volition accidental and bash thing to effort to triumph this case, but to twist and adjacent misattribute quotes to the highest levels of our institution is genuinely beyond the pale."  

The institution points to Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch's grounds astir being "kept awake astatine night" regarding ratings and contention pursuing the 2020 election. Dominion has said and pointed to substance messages betwixt endowment regarding fears astir assemblage pursuing Fox's predetermination nighttime telephone of Arizona for Joe Biden. Lachlan Murdoch said successful wide ratings were thing that person kept him up astatine night.

"You know, you get a fewer grey hairs from being awake astatine – sports ratings oregon quality ratings oregon amusement ratings are astir apt the worst so," Lachlan Murdoch said, according to tribunal papers.

A spokesperson for Dominion didn't instantly remark connected the matter.

Trump has repeatedly dispersed mendacious claims that the 2020 predetermination betwixt him and now-President Joe Biden was rigged. He attempted to unit a apical authoritative successful Georgia to "find" votes for him person go the taxable of a transgression probe successful the state, which Trump mislaid to Joe Biden. 

Fox News has consistently denied that it knowingly made mendacious claims astir the election. It has alleged Dominion is "cherry picking" quotes from depositions and documents gathered done discovery. 

Fox Corp. has besides said successful tribunal papers that the past twelvemonth of find has shown the media institution played "no relation successful the instauration and work of the challenged statements – each of which aired connected either Fox Business Network oregon Fox News Channel." 

Also Tuesday, attorneys for Dominion and Fox met earlier a Delaware justice to sermon adjacent steps starring into the scheduled proceedings that is to statesman successful mid-April. Before then, Dominion and Fox volition conscionable again successful Delaware tribunal connected March 21 regarding their motions for summary judgement.

'They endorsed'

The exhibits filed to a Delaware tribunal connected Tuesday comes aft weeks of tribunal filings that person unveiled parts of the gathered grounds and depositions of Murdoch, different apical Fox Corp. brass, as good arsenic apical talent.

In the filings, some of which were released past week, Murdoch acknowledged that immoderate of Fox's apical TV anchors parroted mendacious claims successful the months pursuing the 2020 statesmanlike election, and that immoderate adjacent endorsed the claims. 

"Some of our commentators were endorsing it," Murdoch said successful his effect during the deposition. "They endorsed." 

Court papers besides amusement Murdoch and his son, Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch, were adjacent to Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott during the clip regarding sum connected the network. Depositions and grounds specified arsenic substance messages amusement personalities similar Tucker Carlson, Hannity and Ingraham expressed disbelief successful the claims being made connected air. 

The lawsuit is being intimately watched by First Amendment watchdogs. Libel lawsuits are typically focused connected 1 falsehood, but successful this lawsuit Dominion cites a agelong database of examples of Fox's cablegram channels and its hosts making mendacious claims adjacent aft they were proven to beryllium untrue. Media companies are often broadly protected by the First Amendment. 

The suit has besides provided a model into what happens down the scenes astatine Fox News, arsenic good arsenic different events tied to the 2020 predetermination fraud claims that were covered connected Fox's networks.

For instance, tribunal filings amusement that Fox Corp. executives had vetoed Trump's effort to look connected the network's aerial connected the evening of Jan. 6, 2021, aft a convulsive mob of Trump supporters attacked the Capitol successful a bid to forestall Congress from confirming Biden's victory.

That evening, apical Fox big Tucker Carlson texted his producer, calling Trump "a demonic force."

Court papers besides amusement that Murdoch besides said it was "wrong" for Carlson to big MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, an ally of Trump who promoted conspiracy theories tied to the election, weeks aft Jan. 6.

Carlson, on with apical anchors including Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, had expressed disbelief successful what Sidney Powell, a pro-Trump lawyer who had aggressively promoted claims of predetermination fraud, had said astatine the time, too.

On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, blasted Fox News big Tucker Carlson for airing Jan. 6 footage connected Monday successful a mode that portrayed it arsenic a peaceful sojourn to the U.S. Capitol. Schumer besides criticized House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., for giving Carlson and Fox News exclusive entree to 44,000 hours of Capitol information footage.

Meanwhile, Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., last week sent a letter to Murdoch and Fox News leadership, calling connected them "to halt spreading mendacious predetermination narratives and admit connected the aerial that they were incorrect to prosecute successful specified negligent behavior." The missive was released successful the days aft further revelations successful the case. 

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