MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan said the $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News headed to trial this week “could pose an existential threat to the company.”
The case filed against the right-wing network by Dominion Voting Systems was set to go to trial on Monday, but the judge on Sunday announced it will be delayed until Tuesday amid reports the right-wing network is looking to settle.
Fox News has denied any wrongdoing. However, Hasan’s report shows why the network might be eager to bring this to a quick end.
He noted that the judge in the case has already ruled that Fox News hosts made false statements about Dominion while on the air.
“Now it’s up to Dominion to prove that Fox published those false statements either knowingly or with a high degree of awareness that they were false,” Hasan said, referring to the legal standard set by the Times v. Sullivan case.
That’s where the behind-the-scenes messages and recordings released in recent months come into play ― and not just the embarrassing ones, such as Tucker Carlson secretly admitting he “hates” Donald Trump.
The most important messages are the ones where various Fox News figures either admit or are told there is no evidence to back the claims they’re making on the air.
Hasan shared some of the most damning statements during his show on Sunday night:
Hasan also spoke with George Washington University Law School professor Catherine J. Ross, who indicated Fox News is facing an uphill battle in court: