In a new development regarding the Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit against Fox News, the voting technology company is calling some of the network’s most well-known faces to the witness stand. The $1.6 billion case was filed in March 2021, after unfounded claims Donald Trump was the rightful winner of the 2020 presidential race were spread online and on broadcasts. Dominion is claiming Fox News played a big part in spreading these claims and putting the voting technology company’s reputation and workers at risk.
While it’s not certain Dominion’s desired witness list will take the stand, the company is calling for Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott, president and executive editor Jay Wallace, former managing editor and vice president Bill Sammon, former political editor Chris Stirewalt, and current hosts Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, Bret Baier, and Maria Bartiromo. Dominion also wants to question former senior producer Abby Grossberg, who is also suing her former network for allegedly coercing her to lie under oath. Via a report from NPR, Grossberg has indicated interest in testifying against Fox News in the Dominion trial.
In addition to the above witnesses, Dominion has requested Fox Corporation Chairman Rupert Murdoch, Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch, and former House speaker and current board member Paul Ryan take the stand. Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis is still deliberating which witness he will compel to testify during the trial.
Per CNN, many of Dominion’s potential witnesses have already testified via depositions — where they revealed their dislike for former president Trump as well as how they had “no basis” for believing the election results were falsified — but the voting technology company requests they give live testimony in person. A trial between the two sides is scheduled for April of this year and is likely to commence if no settlement is reached.
In a Fox News interview aired March 27, potential Dominion lawsuit witness Hannity questioned former president Trump about his own investigations. Trump is currently facing a multitude of legal problems, including charges pertaining to classified documents found in his Mar-a-Lago home during an FBI search in August of last year. During the interview, Hannity alleged Trump would not go through boxes of classified documents nor would he withhold the documents from federal officials. Trump, however, did not agree; instead, the former president told the host it was within his rights to both look through the documents and deny federal requests to access classified documents.
Hannity, in his deposition in the Fox News defamation lawsuit, said he “did not believe” the election fraud claims “for one second.” In the same deposition, he also allegedly claimed Trump “was acting like an insane person” after the results of the election were announced. If Hannity’s true intention during his interview was to paint Trump in a poor light while appearing to be on his side, he succeeded by allowing the former president to both admit he would take classified government documents and continue to push the narrative of election interference.