Fox News is citing newly discovered emails from Maria Bartiromo’s personal account that they want to use in defense of the Dominion Voting System defamation case.
In an email exchange, Tony Fratto, who served as Dominion spokesman in November 2020, wrote to Bartiromo after watching an interview with Sidney Powell, the attorney and Fox News guest who was one of the most visible figures have to support the conspiracy. Theory that the voting system company rigged the election.
“I just watched the full interview with Sidney Powell. It’s sad,” Fratto wrote to Bartiromo on November 21.
Bartiromo replied, “Tony. She’s busy. You want a CEO?
Fratto did not respond to the offer, but wrote: “She presses and prunes very well [sic] over time prove them wrong. The editors of the WSJ are right – today again about the hand count in Georgia.’
He added: “She is trying to smear a company with completely baseless claims and they are baseless because they are not true. The only relevant evidence is that the machines worked where they were used. This woman is harassing employees and they are receiving death threats. That’s why they protect them [sic] LinkedIn accounts. It’s madness.”
In its defamation suit, Dominion alleges that Fox News figures and guests falsely reinforced allegations that the company rigged the results of the 2020 presidential election. One of Fox News’ defenses was that it covered newsworthy allegations against President Donald Trump and his team.
In a letter to Judge Eric Davis, Fox News attorney Blake Rohrbacher wrote that Bartiromo’s emails are “relevant to Fox’s defense that Ms. Bartiromo did not act with actual malice.” The network argued in previous briefings that Bartiromo has “expressed uncertainty to this day about exactly what happened in that election,” and plans to cite her offer to Fratto that the CEO come on the show to make her point to confirms that offers have been made for Dominion to “tell its side of the story”.
A spokesman for Dominion did not immediately comment. But in its briefing, Dominion argued that other Fox News anchors and executives expressed disbelief at the voter fraud allegations, citing Rupert Murdoch’s statement that some figures had “endorsed” them. He himself described Donald Trump’s claims as “bullish” and harmful, according to the Dominion file.
During a procedural hearing Tuesday, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis noted Fox News’ latest indictment and urged attorneys to continue preparing discovery documents “as we deal with it.”
In his letter, Rohrbacher wrote that the emails were only recently discovered because a technical error in a document database failed to recognize the email exchanges from Bartiromo’s account.
Both sides are seeking summary judgment in the case, with personal arguments for Davis on March 21.
A trial is scheduled to begin on April 17, with the jury being selected four days early. The process is expected to take six weeks.
During the trial, Davis provided insight into jury selection and led voir dire. “I don’t care who they voted for. This is not an issue in this case. The question is whether Fox News, Fox Corp. defaming Dominion and harming Dominion.” He said: “The question is [if] they made a decision beforehand about liability in this case.”
Source: Deadline
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
