CNN legal analyst Elie Honig said Tuesday on “The Lead” that Fox News was headed for a “full-blown journalistic and legal disaster” in Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit.
Anchor Jake Tapper said, “If you were a Fox attorney defending Fox, how would you feel going into jury selection this week about your case?”
Honig said, “I’d feel queasy, Jake. I would not want to be in the position of defending Fox here. I think they’re headed for a full-blown journalistic and legal disaster. It is very difficult to successfully sue a media outlet for defamation in this country. What you have to prove is what we call “actual malice,” meaning the statements were false, and the defendant made those statements knowingly or with reckless disregard of the truth. Now, that’s a very high bar. But here we have Fox’s own texts in black and white, where they call the election fraud claims, and I quote, ‘nuts, insane, B.S,’ so you contrast that with the things Fox said on air, and I think Fox is in a very difficult position here.”
Tapper said, “The judge granted partial summary judgment to Dominion in this case. What does that mean?”
Honig said, “Well, that’s a big win for Dominion because the judge has now ruled as a matter of law. In fact, these statements about election fraud were false. That’s not even going to the jury.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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