Fox News and Lou Dobbs Settle Yet Another Defamation Suit
Fox news doesn’t seem to be able to get away from their past propagation of election lies.
The company today has settled a lawsuit with a Venezuelan businessman who had accused the network and former host Lou Dobbs of defamation. The lawsuit was filed by Majed Khalil, who alleged that statements made by Dobbs and pro-Trump attorney Sidney Powell on Dobbs’s Fox Business show defamed him by accusing the businessman of executing an “electoral 9/11” and helping change ballot counts in voting machines during the 2020 presidential election.
Dobbs had written on Twitter that "The 2020 Election is a cyber Pearl Harbor: The leftwing establishment have aligned their forces to overthrow the United States government."
According to Khalil’s complaint, during one of Dobbs's shows, the host had also asked Powell, "You say these four individuals led the effort to rig this election. How did they do it?"
While Dobbs and Fox's attorney had previously tried to have the case dismissed on First Amendment grounds, a settlement was ultimately reached between the parties. Financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed. A spokesperson for Fox News stated that "This matter has been resolved amicably by both sides. We have no further comment." Following the lawsuit, Fox News canceled Dobbs’ show in February of 2021.
In addition to this settlement, Fox News is currently facing two other major lawsuits, one for $1.6 billion from Dominion Voting Systems and another for $2.7 billion from Smartmatic, both of which allege that Fox News spread false claims about their voting machines and software during the 2020 election.
