WILMINGTON, Del. — Opening arguments are set to begin Tuesday in the Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit accusing Fox News of spreading the damaging falsehood that the company rigged the 2020 election.
The civil trial in Delaware Superior Court arrives more than two years after Dominion, which sells voting machines and election software, first accused Fox of knowingly airing lies about the company in order to boost its ratings.
The network “intentionally and falsely” blamed Dominion for former President Donald Trump’s loss to President Joe Biden by broadcasting unsubstantiated claims about the company, including that it meddled with vote tallies, Dominion alleged.
Fox has maintained that the statements made about Dominion on its air are protected by the First Amendment, which shields the freedoms of speech and press. The network also argued that Dominion’s suit does not establish that the claims were aired with “actual malice,” a requirement to meet the legal standard for defamation.
The trial’s unusual circumstances — most defamation cases settle out of court, and few promise in-person testimony from a parade of well-known media figures — along with a 10-figure claim for damages have generated cacophonous media buzz. But it’s far from clear what impact, if any, the case will have on Fox’s reputation or its bottom line.
Dominion has also filed defamation lawsuits against Trump’s former attorney Rudy Giuliani, his ex-campaign lawyer Sidney Powell, right-wing news networks and other figures. Smartmatic, another elections technology firm, has filed similar defamation lawsuits demanding billions of dollars in damages.
But the case against Fox has seized the spotlight in recent months — especially following the release of troves of private messages and testimony from top Fox News talent and executives, including Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch and opinion host Tucker Carlson.
The communications have cast a shade of scandal over the legal battle, revealing…
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