Key takeaways:
- Rupert Murdoch’s deposition testimony was released as part of a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News.
- Murdoch said he told former House Speaker Paul Ryan that Fox News’ Sean Hannity had been privately “disgusted” with former President Donald Trump for weeks, but was scared to lose viewers.
- The filing also included an email from Murdoch to Ryan in January 2021, in which he said Hannity had been privately disgusted with Trump for weeks but was scared to lose viewers.
Fox News founder Rupert Murdoch recently revealed in a deposition that he told former House Speaker Paul Ryan that Fox News’ Sean Hannity had been privately “disgusted” with former President Donald Trump for weeks, but was scared to lose viewers. This information was revealed in a new filing in the $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit brought against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems.
The lawsuit alleges Fox News hosts promoted false claims that Dominion voting machines had been used to rig the 2020 election in favor of President Joe Biden. Murdoch’s deposition testimony was released as part of the filing, and it appears to be damaging to Fox News.
In the deposition, Murdoch said he told Ryan that Fox News needed to “put down the echoes of falsehoods from our side” in order to move on to “principled loyal opposition.” Murdoch also said he “seriously doubted” the truth of the claims made by Fox News hosts about Dominion Voting Systems.
The filing also included an email from Murdoch to Ryan in January 2021, in which he said Hannity had been privately disgusted with Trump for weeks but was scared to lose viewers. This email appears to be a direct contradiction to Hannity’s public support of the former president on his widely watched prime time show.
The new filing in the case is likely to have major implications for Fox News and its reputation. It is unclear how the network will respond to the revelations, but it is clear that Murdoch’s deposition testimony has been damaging to the network.
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