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- The judge in the Dominion v. Fox lawsuit criticized a Fox News spokesperson in a private conversation.
- He said she should "be nicer to people" after saying she "ratted on" others for tweeting in court, which is forbidden.
- A person familiar with the situation said Cronin was looking for clarity on the courtroom's policy.
The judge who oversaw the blockbuster case between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems privately told the right-wing media network's top lawyer that Fox News spokesperson Caley Cronin should "be nicer to people" after alleging she "ratted on other people" for tweeting from court in violation of his rules.
Cronin was escorted from the courtroom by a court officer on Tuesday morning, minutes before the day's proceedings were set to begin in Delaware Superior Court in Wilmington.
She had taken photos of the courtroom on her phone, before the judge or any prospective jurors arrived. The officer instructed her to delete the photos, and she apologized and complied.
According to the transcript of a private sidebar conversation Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis had several hours later with top Fox lawyer Dan Webb and Dominion lawyer Justin Nelson, Cronin then "turned around and ratted on other people about tweeting," the judge said.
"Honor among thieves," Davis added, according to the transcript.
A person familiar with Cronin's interactions with court staff told Insider Wednesday that she had mentioned others using Twitter while seeking clarity with court officers about the courtroom's policies. When an officer asked her to name people she believed were using Twitter, Cronin declined to answer, the person said.
Court spokesperson Sean O'Sullivan directed questions about the incident to Superior Court Chief Staff Attorney Linda Carmichael, who declined to comment Wednesday.
Members of the public normally aren't permitted to bring electronics into the court building. In March, Davis issued a protocol order that allowed credentialed media representatives to bring electronics such as laptops into the courtroom for notetaking but forbade any "electronic-based communications, including posting on social media" as well as "video recording, photography," and sound recording. Nevertheless, a number of journalists in the main courtroom could be seen texting and emailing while waiting for the judge to appear.
After leaving the main courtroom, Cronin went into the overflow room. Shortly after Davis began proceedings, the judge alluded to the drama, saying anyone who would "violate the protocol order by taking photographs or anything like that" would be "escorted out."
Later in the morning, Davis announced to the courtroom that someone "took photographs of the courtroom prior to starting" and "had to delete it off their phone."
"We have people from the court in the courtroom. Our moles," he said to laughter from the attorneys and nervous chuckles from journalists in the room. "And so we'll see it."
In the private remarks moments later, Davis told Webb to "warn your Fox people."
"She should be nicer to people too," Davis added.
"I'll make sure I make all those points," Webb responded.
"Judges always find out about these things," Davis replied.
The exchange was included in the official transcript of the day's proceedings obtained by Insider.
Nelson didn't comment at the time on Cronin's removal. A representative for Dominion declined to comment Wednesday as well.
By 3:57 p.m., the issue was moot. After hours of waiting and what the transcript refers to as a brief "sidebar discussion held off the record," the judge announced Fox and Dominion had reached a settlement.
Outside the court building, Nelson announced that Fox agreed to pay $787.5 million.