Former US President Donald Trump has launched a blistering attack on Rupert Murdoch, accusing the Fox News owner of betraying the network's hosts in legal testimony. The outburst comes after Murdoch conceded that some Fox anchors had 'endorsed' baseless claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen through voter fraud.
In a defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems, the company argues that Fox News aired false and malicious rumours about voter fraud that harmed its business. The electronic voting firm is seeking $1.6 billion (£1.3 billion) in damages. Fox News has defended its coverage, arguing it is protected under free speech rights and that it was merely reporting on then-President Trump's allegations.
On social media, Trump wrote: 'Why is Rupert Murdoch throwing his anchors under the table, which also happens to be killing his case and infuriating his viewers, who will again be leaving in droves - they already are.' He repeated his unfounded claims of 'large scale ballot stuffing'.
Legal filings released on Monday revealed that Murdoch told Dominion's lawyers he did not believe Trump's allegations of mass voter fraud and thought Fox News should have been 'stronger in denouncing' them. The filings also detail Murdoch's private efforts to aid Trump's campaign, including providing confidential information about Joe Biden's adverts and debate strategy to Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Dominion's lawsuit alleges that Fox embraced the election fraud conspiracy theory due to concerns that conservative viewers were switching to more pro-Trump outlets. After Fox was first to call Arizona for Biden, Murdoch told Kushner he could not change the outcome because 'the numbers are the numbers'. Fox then delayed its final victory call, with Murdoch messaging his son Lachlan: 'We should and could have gone first but at least being second saves us a Trump explosion!'
