Fox News Fires Producer Abby Grossberg, Citing Dominion Disclosure

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Brian Stelter is getting ready to write a new chapter in his ongoing analysis of Fox News Channel. The former anchor of CNN’s “Reliable Sources” is gearing up for “Network of Lies: The Epic Saga of Fox News, Donald Trump, and the Battle for American Democracy,” a look at the Fox Corp. cable outlet’s trajectory following the 2020 election and through the much-scrutinized defamation trial brought against it by Dominion Voting Systems. That court proceeding is slated to open Monday. “Network of Lies” is billed as a sequel of sorts to Stelter’s 2020 book “Hoax,” which offered a deep look behind the mechanics of how Fox News Channel produces its news coverage and opinion programming. Stelter’s new book proposes to examine how Fox News proceeded after the election of President Joe Biden and how it oriented itself after President Donald Trump left office. The book, published by One Signal, an imprint of Simon & Schuster’s Atria division, is scheduled to debut in November of 2023.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor A judge overseeing a much-scrutinized defamation trial brought by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News and its corporate parent has admonished attorneys for the media company several times this week in preliminary hearings and suggested Wednesday he may appoint an outside monitor to ensure Fox isn’t withholding evidence. Judge Eric M. David of Delaware’s Superior Court suggested Wednesday that he might appoint a special master to probe whether Fox lied about withholding evidence after Dominion attorneys made a presentation about materials not given to them in the discovery process that they believe are warranted. There were also claims made that Fox Corp. declined to acknowledge that Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of Fox Corp., was also an officer of Fox News — a detail that would affect what kinds of materials Dominion could obtain.

Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announced today that Fox News will host the first official Republican debate of the party’s 2024 presidential primary race in August in Milwaukee.

Fox News has reached a settlement with Venezuelan businessman Majed Khalil, who filed a defamation lawsuit over a Lou Dobbs tweet and broadcast linking him to rigging the 2020 presidential election.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor As Fox Corp. prepares to fight a looming and high-profile defamation case, it has agreed to settle another. The company, which owns Fox News, has reached a confidential agreement to resolve a defamation case levied against it by Venezuelan businessman Majed Khalil that alleged Fox News and former host Lou Dobbs had harmed Khalil’s reputation by stating he and three others developed programs and machines to rig the 2020 presidential election. “This matter has been resolved amicably by both sides. We have no further comment,” Fox News said in a statement after being contacted by Variety. A letter filed Saturday to Judge Louis L. Stanton of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York informed authorities that the parties in the case “have reached a confidential agreement to resolve this matter. The parties anticipate filing a joint stipulation of dismissal with prejudice early next week.”

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Rupert Murdoch and Lachlan Murdoch could be called upon to testify in Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit suit against Fox News and Fox Corp., per a Delaware judge who says he is not against calling upon the media moguls. If the attorneys for Dominion issue trial subpoenas to force a testimony from the Fox leaders, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said at a public hearing Wednesday he, “would not quash it and I would compel them to come,” per NBC News. “It would be my discretion that they come,” Davis said. Dominion’s attorneys requested in a letter to the court Wednesday that live testimony be required from Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, as well as Fox board member and former House Speaker Paul Ryan and Fox exec Viet Dinh. Davis approved the request to compel each of them to testify, according to NBC News.

Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch, Fox Corporation board member Paul Ryan and Fox Corp. executive Viet Dinh can be compelled to testify in Dominion’s upcoming defamation trial against Fox News, a judge said on Wednesday.

UPDATED: Rupert Murdoch and Ann Lesley Smith are no longer engaged, Deadline has confirmed, only weeks after news that the two were planning to tie the knot this summer. Smith was set to be wife No. 5 for the media mogul and chairman of Fox Corp.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor The new New York studio that Nexstar Media Group built for Elizabeth Vargas’ nascent NewsNation program is so big, the anchor believes she could do five cartwheels across if called upon to do so. Starting Monday night, the company begins the process of figuring out if such rigorous calisthenics will be necessary. TV-news aficionados likely know Vargas from her 15-year stint as a co-anchor on ABC News’ “20/20,” but on Monday night, she will jump right into the fray in the information wars, with a program at 6 p.m. eastern – a time slot that has become more competitive in recent months. At MSNBC, for example, Ari Melber’s “The Beat” has become one of that network’s most-watched programs. Late-afternoon has become more of a cable-news battlefield as viewers who have learned to work from home after the coronavirus pandemic tune in earlier to get a recap of the day’s events.

Rupert Murdoch was eager to make a call and effectively — and emphatically — declare Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential race as vote counting continued three days after election day, internal Fox News emails show.The Fox News Decision Desk played a pivotal role in the turn of events that was 2020 Election Night, calling the state of Arizona for Biden many hours before any other media outlet.But it was Murdoch who encouraged Fox News leadership to pull the cattle brand from the fire and call things for Biden on Nov. 6, with several states still counting votes, emails made public Friday by Dominion Voting Systems in its $1.6 billion defamation case against the network show.“It would be great if we call it for Biden as soon as he gets over, say, 35,000 ahead in Pennsylvania,” Murdoch wrote.

The Fox News-Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit is going to trial.A judge denied granting a summary judgement Friday to Fox News. The cable network was attempting to get Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit thrown out.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Dominion Voting Systems’ whopping $1.6 billion defamation suit against Fox Corporation and Fox News is cleared to go to trial, despite the media company’s efforts. Barring a settlement or other unforeseen circumstances, the voting technology company will get to have its attorneys grill Fox News anchors and Fox Corp. executives, Judge Eric M. Davis of Superior Court in State of Delaware ruled in a filing on Friday. “The Court will allow this civil action to go to trial,” Davis said Friday. At issue in the case are damages Dominion alleges it is owed after Fox News aired false claims about its actions and influence on the 2020 election. It is the second legal proceeding made against Fox News for its coverage of the aftermath of the 2020 race for the White House. Smartmatic, a separate voting technology company, has filed a massive $2.7 billion suit against Fox News. Both suits allege that Fox News falsely claimed the companies had rigged the election, repeated items about the matter and then refused to engage in efforts to set the record straight. The 2020 election was not fixed and its results were certified by multiple legal processes.

 Unless Rupert Murdoch and Fox News settle soon, Dominion Voting Systems will have its day in court in its defamation case against the combative conservative cable newser.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Fox News is about to have one of its biggest events in years, and everyone from CEO Suzanne Scott to prominent anchors like Tucker Carlson and Maria Bartiromo to primetime chief Meade Cooper is likely to attend some part of it. If Fox’s parent company has its way, however, Rupert Murdoch, the guiding force behind much of Fox Corporation, will not. Starting as soon as April 17, Fox Corp. could square off in the Superior Court of the State of Delaware and face allegations of defamation from Dominion Voting Systems in a whopping $1.6 billion-dollar suit that is sure to generate headlines. Before any of that can start, however, the two sides appear to locked in a battle over whether the Fox Corp. executive chairman, and his son, CEO Lachlan Murdoch, should be present in court to give testimony.

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.

Abby Grossberg, the Fox News producer who was fired last week after filing suit against the network, added new details to her allegations that she was coerced by Fox News’ legal team into giving misleading deposition testimony as the network defended itself in Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit.

dropped a gag order against her on March 21. Her lawyer, Parisis G.

Fox News has fired a producer who filed a lawsuit against the network in which she claimed that she was coached and coerced by the network’s lawyers to give misleading deposition testimony in the defense against Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor A producer for Fox News who has worked for Maria Batirormo and Tucker Carlson alleged in court filings Monday that she was coerced by executives into providing misleading testimony in the $1.6 billion defamation suit that Dominion Voting Systems has levied against the Fox Corp.-backed outlet. In filings made Monday Delaware Superior Court and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Abby Grossberg, who had worked as a senior booking producer for Bartiromo and head of booking for Tucker Carlson, alleged that Fox attorneys worked to “coach, manipulate, and coerce Ms. Grossberg to deliver shaded and/or incomplete answers during her sworn deposition testimony, which answers were clearly to her reputational detriment but greatly benefitted Fox News,” according to the Delaware lawsuit.

A Fox News producer claims that she was “coerced” and “intimidated” by the network’s legal team into providing misleading and evasive testimony in a deposition in the Dominion Voting Systems defamation case.