Yahoo Autos Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity And Bret Baier Among Names On Fox And Dominion’s Witness List; Judge Doubts Rupert Murdoch’s Claim Of Hardship In Appearing For Live Testimony — Update
UPDATE, 12:39 PM ET: The judge presiding over Dominion’s defamation case against Fox pushed back on the network’s attorneys for their argument that Rupert Murdoch would be unable to testify live in the upcoming trial.
In a hearing on Tuesday, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis cited a letter he received from the Fox legal team arguing that “under Covid, he couldn’t travel, that he doesn’t have knowledge, that it can be difficult for him to come down.”
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“Mr. Murdoch has claimed that he is traveling and that it would be an inconvenience,” Davis said. “But I also have people telling me that he has done some things recently that show he is hardly infirm and unable to travel around.”
Davis referred to reports of Murdoch’s engagement on St. Patrick’s Day, and his talk of traveling “between his various residences between L.A., Montana, New York and London.”
“That doesn’t sound like someone who can’t go from New York to Wilmington,” the judge told attorneys. “So let’s get the story straight on these types of things so I don’t look like an idiot.”
He referred to a letter he received from Fox’s lawyers, arguing that “under Covid, he couldn’t travel, that he doesn’t have knowledge, that it can be difficult for him to come down.”
Davis said that he had the ability to compel officers, directors and managing agents to testify, depending on the reason their testimony would be needed in a trial. Just who will give live testimony — and whether they will be compelled to do so — is an issue as attorneys and the judge plan out the trial.
Matthew Carter, attorney for Fox, told the judge that there could have been a bit of miscommunication in their letter. “We are not arguing that Mr. Murdoch is infirm or unable to travel.” He said that they were pointing out that given his seven hour deposition, there was no reason to “force him to come and testify live.”
In the letter to the judge, Fox’s legal team argued that Murdoch, son Lachlan Murdoch, Fox Corp. executive Viet Dinh and board member Paul Ryan should not be compelled to testify because of “hardships on those witnesses, and the undue burden given their limited knowledge of pertinent facts.”
“Mr. Murdoch was in Great Britain under COVID-19 lockdown during the entire relevant time-period,” the attorneys wrote, adding that during his deposition, he “repeatedly stated he had little knowledge of Dominion, no opinion on Dominion, and no understanding of Dominion’s possible role in the 2020 election.” The attorneys also argued that the others had limited roles in the case.
PREVIOUSLY: Dominion Voting Systems’ upcoming defamation trial against Fox News and Fox Corp., scheduled to begin on April 17, may very well feature a parade of the network’s news personalities taking the stand, with both sides in the case planning to call figures including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Bret Baier.
