Newly uncovered footage of Maria Bartiromo talking to Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani and others has once again angered a Delaware judge on Fox’s legal team.
Judge Eric M. Davis said Wednesday he will appoint a special counsel to investigate Fox’s statements in court, including one made in December that Fox violated its disclosure obligations to Dominion Voting Systems in its $1.6 billion defamation suit has been fulfilled.
Davis said he was “deeply concerned” that Bartiromo’s recordings were turned over to Dominion’s lawyers just last week. Dominion attorney Davida Brook claimed Fox withheld key evidence until the last minute and more may have to be produced.
Fox last week produced footage shot by Bartiromo’s former producer Abby Grossberg, who filed a separate lawsuit against Fox alleging she was ordered to misrepresent her testimony. In her lawsuit, she alleges discrimination and retaliation, allegations the network denies. But she also alleged that Fox’s legal team failed to turn over the tapes to Dominion’s lawyers during the discovery process.
At Fox News and other outlets such as Newsmax and One America News, Powell and Giuliani have been central figures in promoting Donald Trump’s baseless claims that the 2020 presidential election is rigged.
In one of the recordings, dated November 15, 2020, Bartiromo can be heard talking to Giuliani before appearing on her Sunday show this week to address Donald Trump’s allegations of voter fraud.
“Well, that’s what I wanted to ask you. Is it multiple lawsuits or one lawsuit? What about this software, this Dominion software?” the Fox host asked.
“It’s a little more difficult,” Giuliani said.
“Okay, and then this Dominion software, does Nancy Pelosi have a stake in it?” said Bartiromo.
“I read it. I can’t prove it,” Giuliani said.
After the Nov. 15 show, Bartiromo can be heard asking Powell, “Is there anything else I can do for you?”
Powell asked, “You could put a Chiron on the floor for that, and call us a defense fund.”
Grossberg is heard saying, “We can’t do that.” But Bartiromo records the information as if it were a possibility.
Grossberg also cited other excerpts from legal documents, including one in which Bartiromo asked Powell before an interview: “Do you want to get into the software industry? What is your most compelling evidence?” Powell responded that the Trump campaign had a “witness who made a foreign statement about how [the voting software] was made, why it was made and how it worked.” According to Grossberg, Bartiromo did not pursue the matter further.
In another conversation with a senior Trump adviser that took place in December 2020, Bartiromo asked about possible fraudulent voting machines in Georgia. The consultant informed Bartiromo that there were no problems with the machines.
Dominion’s Brook said the notes were “obviously relevant” to the case, but were only handed to them by Fox’s team last week.
Davis agreed on the importance of the recordings as they relate to actual malice and ordered Fox to make Bartiromo available for additional explanation at the network’s expense. Bartiromo is also on the witness list to testify at the trial.
“If a statement needs to be made, it will be made and it will be made at Fox’s expense,” Davis said.
The judge also suggested that Fox’s lawyers could face additional penalties as a result of the special investigation, as well as emails and other documents related to another recent revelation in the case that Rupert Murdoch an executive of both Fox News as well as Fox Corp were. . Fox lawyer Dan Webb said it was not trying to hide Murdoch’s role and that it was available in public SEC filings.
Dominion also claimed there was other potential evidence to be presented, including all documents related to Bret Baier’s November 2020 proposal that the network dedicate a special Sunday night program to debunking allegations of voter fraud. Dominion’s Brook cited an NPR report this week that Baier made the proposal but never received a response.
Fox’s attorney, Michael Skokna, argued that they only learned of Grossberg’s records after she filed her lawsuit last month and then tried to change her testimony. Grossberg gave her phone to Fox lawyers last year and the contents were imaged for use in discovery, but the footage was not found at the time, according to Skokna. Fox’s lawyers are also tight-lipped about what they see as Dominion’s late filing of financial documents.
But the judge was visibly upset by the recent revelations in the case. He even taunted Bartiromo at one point, telling Skokna: “She’s neutral, of course.” The attorney paused before Davis said, “I’m being sarcastic.” The judge said he was referring to Bartiromo’s behavior during the conversation with Powell.
“It’s a Fox problem,” Davis said. “These tape recordings are actually directly related to one of the sentences under appeal, in the correct context.” He said there was a “factual question of when” or “when did people know what”.
“It will be relevant to this investigation, even if it is put in full context,” the judge said.
Fox is withholding additional footage of Bartiromo, taken in December 2020, because the interview was with a confidential source and is protected by reporter’s privilege.
A Fox spokesperson said in a statement: “As the attorney explained to the court, Fox provided the additional information from Ms. Grossberg when we first learned of it.”
Grossberg’s attorneys, Parisis Filippatos and Tanvir Rahman, said in a statement: “Ms. Grossberg remains committed to telling the truth in all appropriate forums, including before a court-appointed special foreman, while our company will continue to to ensure that she gets the justice she deserves.
Jury selection for the trial begins Thursday and the trial begins Monday.
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.
