Rupert Murdoch to be deposed as part of Smartmatic suit against Fox News
Billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch will face questioning this week from lawyers for voting systems company Smartmatic as part of the company’s defamation lawsuit against Fox News over its coverage of the 2020 election.
The deposition will take place Tuesday in Los Angeles, Reuters reported.
Murdoch, 92, until this month served as chairman of Fox and News Corp. before ceding control of the company to his eldest son Lachlan and taking on the role of “Chairman Emeritus.”
In April, with Rupert Murdoch still at the helm, Fox agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787 million to settle similar claims of defamation stemming from statements made on its airwaves about Dominion’s software that were being promoted by former President Trump and his allies.
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As part of that litigation, Dominion lawyers made public Rupert Murdoch’s sworn depositions and internal communications around the time of the 2020 election, some of which showed him criticizing Trump and his false claims of a stolen election.
Smartmatic is seeking $2.7 billion in damages from Fox, accusing it of maliciously giving Trump lawyers Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani a platform to air falsehoods about the election.
Fox has denied Smartmatic’s accusations and has moved in court to have the case dismissed, so far unsuccessfully. The network has also argued Smartmatic is inflating its valuation as it attempts to win a settlement.
“We will be ready to defend this case surrounding extremely newsworthy events when it goes to trial, likely in 2025,” the network said in a statement about the case. “As a report prepared by our financial expert shows, Smartmatic’s damages claims are implausible, disconnected from reality, and on its face intended to chill First Amendment freedoms.”
Updated: 1:07 p.m.
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