Murdoch said Fox hosts may have gone 'too far' in covering stolen-election claims
Documents from Dominion Voting Systems' defamation lawsuit against U.S.-based Fox News are shining more light on the cable network's promotion of voter fraud claims in the 2020 presidential election. 6,500 pages released Tuesday include an email from Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch saying that show hosts Sean Hannity and Laura Ingram maybe, quote, went too far, end quote, in pushing that the election was stolen. Dominion has sued Fox News networks for $1.6 billion, accusing the cable TV network of amplifying debunked claims that Dominion voting machines were used to rig the election against Republican Donald Trump and in favor of his rival Joe Biden, who won the election.
In another email to Fox News president Suzanne Scott, Murdoch wrote that it had been suggested to him that the network's primetime hosts say something like, quote, the election is over and Joe Biden won, end quote. Murdoch said some version of this would, quote, go a long way to stop the Trump myth that the election stolen, end quote. Dominion has alleged Fox continued to push the stolen election narrative because it was losing viewers to right-wing outlets that embraced it. The materials are part of the voting machine company's effort to prove the network either knew the statements it aired were false or recklessly disregarded their accuracy. That is the standard of actual malice, which public figures must prove to prevail in a defamation case. Fox has defended its coverage, arguing claims by Trump and his lawyers were inherently newsworthy and protected by the First Amendment of the U.S.
Constitution. The events surrounding the claims of election fraud in 2020 remain front and center on Fox News. The network's highest-rated primetime host Tucker Carlson this week has used some newly obtained security footage showing protesters walking through the Capitol on January 6, 2021 to argue that they were merely sightseers. Five people, including a police officer, died during or shortly after the riot, and more than 140 police officers were injured. The Capitol suffered millions of dollars in damage. Senate leaders from both parties criticized the portrayal. Here's Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell.
It was a mistake in my view for Fox News to depict this in a way that's completely adherence with what our chief law enforcement official here at the Capitol thinks. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer took a harsher tone. With contempt for the facts, disregard of the risks, and knowing full well he was lying, lying to his audience, Fox News host Tucker Carlson ran a lengthy segment last night, arguing the January 6 Capitol attack was not a violent insurrection. To say January 6 was not violent is a lie, a lie pure and simple. I don't think I've ever seen a primetime cable news anchor manipulate his viewers the way Mr. Carlson did last night. The Dominion lawsuit against Fox heads to trial April 17th.
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