The trial for the blockbuster $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit Dominion Voting Systems has waged against Fox News and its parent company is set to begin today.
Opening statements are slated to start at the New Castle County courthouse after jury selection is completed. At the conclusion of this six-week trial, 12 Delawareans will decide the outcome of one of the highest-profile defamation lawsuits in decades.
The trial was originally set to begin Monday morning, but the judge announced late Sunday night that it was being pushed to Tuesday. While Judge Eric Davis did not given a reason for the delay, media outlets reported that settlement talks are ongoing on Monday.
“I can’t think of another one that has been as consequential in recent history,” said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond. “It clearly ranks as one of the most important, partly because of who the players are.”
Dozens of journalists are expected to flock to Delaware to cover the trial. This case will also likely be one of the most significant trials The First State has ever hosted. Judge Eric Davis has prohibited any use of cameras in the courtroom or publishing audio recordings.
Dominion filed a lawsuit against Fox in 2021 after the cable news network aired false claims about Dominion, specifically that it helped rig the 2020 presidential election.
Jurors will have the task of determining if Fox committed “actual malice,” or the idea that it knowingly published false information about Dominion or recklessly disregarded information showing that the claims were not true.
WHAT TO KNOW:Delaware residents will decide outcome of Fox News defamation case. Trial to begin Monday
Dominion claims Fox knowingly spread falsehoods to pander to its conservative base of customers.
Fox has denied all wrongdoing, saying its hosts were covering the most important news story of the day. Fox News released a statement days before trial that described the lawsuit to be a “political crusade in search of a financial windfall.”
Many Fox hosts are expected to testify during the course of the trial, including Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson. It’s expected that Fox chairman and media mogul Rupert Murdoch will also testify.
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