The revelations that continue to come out from Dominion’s $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News has prompted two key Democratic members of congress to write a letter to Rupert Murdoch and Fox executives demanding they tell Fox News personalities who peddled election misinformation to admit that they were wrong.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote a joint letter seeking an admission of wrongdoing from Fox News personalities when it came to the promotion of the “Big Lie,” which implied that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election and that the network should stop spreading that lie and other election conspiracies.
The letter was also addressed to Fox Corp executive chairman and CEO Lachlan Murdoch, Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott, and Fox News Media president and executive editor Jay Wallace.
“The leadership of your company was aware of the dangers of broadcasting these outlandish claims. By your own account, Donald Trump’s election lies were ‘damaging’ and ‘really crazy stuff.’ Despite that shocking admission, Fox News hosts have continued to peddle election denialism to the American people,” they wrote.
Sen. Schumer and Rep. Jeffries further went on to say, “We demand that you direct Tucker Carlson and other hosts on your network to stop spreading false election narratives and admit on the air that they were wrong to engage in such negligent behavior.”
Rupert Murdoch could have stepped in but chose not to.@RepJeffries and I are demanding that he do what he should have done a long time ago:
Order Tucker Carlson and other hosts on Fox News to stop spreading the Big Lie. pic.twitter.com/I7hAGgBJza
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 1, 2023
The New York duo have the backing of Murdoch’s own testimony in confronting the media company.
New revelations from filings released this week from Dominion’s lawsuit showed that Murdoch acknowledged, under testimony, that some Fox News and Fox Business personalities pushed the narrative that Joe Biden stole the 2020 presidential election.
“Yes, they endorsed,” Murdoch said.
The filings also revealed Murdoch’s involvement in the network’s election coverage, emailing Scott, in one instance, asking her to have Fox News host Sean Hannity say positive things about Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham, who was facing reelection for his South Carolina seat.
“We cannot lose the Senate if all possible,” he said.
These accounts and many others contained within the filings have shown that Fox News and Fox Corp, at all levels of management, made business decisions in not addressing the falsehoods that were being circulated regarding the process and outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
Fox News Media has remained silent in response to the letter penned by the congressmen, but on Monday did issue a statement after the latest filings were released saying the voting technology company’s view of the law is “extreme” and that it is “cherry-picking soundbites, omitting key context and mischaracterizing the record.”
Sen. Schumer and Rep. Jeffries concluded their letter by saying, “Fox News executives and all other hosts on your network have a clear choice. You can continue a pattern of lying to your viewers and risking democracy or move beyond this damaging chapter in your company’s history by siding with the truth and reporting the facts. We ask that you make sure Fox News ceases disseminating the Big Lie and other election conspiracy theories on your network.”
Dominion’s case against Fox News will be going to trial beginning mid-April, with a status conference set to take place next week.