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- The judge overseeing the Fox-Dominion defamation case sanctioned the network for withholding evidence.
- This happened the day after a disclosure that Fox lawyers withheld information about Rupert Murdoch's role at the media company.
- The trial is scheduled to start Thursday with jury selection.
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — The judge presiding over a defamation case against Fox News said Wednesday he likely will order an independent review to determine whether the network improperly withheld evidence, a step that could lead to sanctions.
The move by Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis came amid a burst of fresh revelations in the $1.6 billion defamation case filed by Dominion Voting Systems against the conservative network and its parent company, Fox Corp.
The judge expressed anger and frustration during a pretrial hearing after learning that Fox only recently turned over recordings of host Maria Bartiromo talking with Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, two former lawyers for then-President Donald Trump. Davis said Dominion could question Bartiromo under oath again, at Fox's expense, though there was no immediate indication from Dominion that it would do so.
That came after the disclosure a day earlier that Fox lawyers had withheld critical information about the role company founder Rupert Murdoch, who is chairman of Fox. Corp., played at Fox News.
The trial is scheduled to start Thursday with jury selection. Dominion alleges that Fox damaged the company by repeatedly airing false allegations that its machines and the software they used rigged the 2020 presidential election to prevent Trump's re-election.