Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch handed Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner “confidential information” about then-Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign ads before they aired on the conservative network, according to a new court filing.
The leaks provided Kushner, then a Trump White House adviser, with “a preview of Biden’s ads before they were public,” according to court documents released Monday in Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6-billion defamation suit against Fox News.
“During Trump’s campaign, Rupert provided Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner, with Fox confidential information about Biden’s ads, along with debate strategy,” the filing declared. The filing didn’t elaborate on how Murdoch assisted with “debate strategy.”
Dominion is suing Fox News over unfounded claims pushed by network personalities that the company’s voting machines were used to flip the election in favor of Biden.
Elsewhere in the filing, Murdoch acknowledged Fox News hosts “endorsed” conspiracy theories about Donald Trump winning the 2020 election.
Critics described the Murdoch-Kushner leak as a “bombshell.”
“These actions by Rupert Murdoch seem illegal,” said Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.). “At the very least, it would appear to be a campaign contribution of significant value, well over federal campaign limits.”
“Trump falsely accused Biden of ‘spying on his campaign,’” commented the progressive PAC MeidasTouch. “Today, it was revealed that Trump and Fox News colluded to *actually* spy on Biden’s campaign. Every accusation is always a confession.”
Fox has denied the lawsuit’s allegations, claiming it is “more about what will generate headlines than what can withstand legal and factual scrutiny.”