What is it about the Fox News Channel that makes it so disturbing?

Hahah this is NOT what Fox will want

Judge Davis called the issue “serious” and discussed directing a special master to investigate Fox’s handling of discovery.

— ErikWemple (@ErikWemple) April 12, 2023

I mean I'm just a rando outsider looking at all this but either these Fox lawyers are ridiculously incompetent, being directed by their clients to do things they'd rather not, or just simply complicit. (The Smartmatic lawyers in their own separate lawsuit -- which is working towards happening in turn! -- are absolutely taking notes.)

This sanctions order is rather unusual and a significant problem for Fox.

It’s hard to make sense of Fox’s approach to the Dominion case. It would have made a lot of sense to negotiate a settlement early. https://t.co/hhr1MkR7i9

— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) April 12, 2023

xp When you have a client with unlimited funds and no scruples, you withdraw or you find yourself doing things you'll regret.

The embedded tweet in Mariotti's is worth it for the photo:

The judge overseeing the Dominion case says he is imposing a sanction on Fox and would likely order an investigation into whether its legal team withheld evidence. ⁦@katie_robertson⁩ ⁦@jwpetersNYT⁩ https://t.co/618AlxSrcR

— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) April 12, 2023

https://i.etsystatic.com/34948493/c/1772/1408/0/248/il/7d68f5/4561307654/il_680x540.4561307654_6l7r.jpg

Hail Mary time!

Washington Post: Opening arguments in Dominion v. Fox have been delayed until Tuesday "to allow both parties to hold conversations about the possibility of a settlement, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation..."https://t.co/IIuPsobYGV

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) April 17, 2023

lol

Fox News full page ad in NYT this AM on public trust as it seeks to settle ten-figure defamation suit on eve of jury trial pic.twitter.com/MyhbgbSbrg

— David Folkenflik (@davidfolkenflik) April 17, 2023

has Dominion given any indication they want to settle? feel like these cases never actually go to trial but they're also never as open-and-shut as this one is

No indication at all, but I gather the vibe is that the judge wouldn't announce this if they weren't taking Fox's offer seriously. Which tells me that Fox is offering quite a bit, and I'm guessing not just money.

please go to trial please go to trial

FWIW:

However, three people directly involved in the case said that they did not expect the parties to settle. Lawyers for Dominion were filing requests with the court on Monday morning, an indication they expected the case to go to trial on Tuesday....

The reason a settlement has been elusive so far is not just monetary. Fox, one of the most profitable media companies, would have to issue an apology to Dominion under the terms Dominion would accept, according to several people familiar with the limited settlement discussions that have taken place in previous months.

An apology (singular) is not nearly enough. I want "We're Fox: We're Fuckin' Liars" on a chyron scrolling across the bottom of the screen 24/7 for as long as that network exists.

I don't see an advantage to settling, unless they just really want/need the money. The cat is already out of the bag, and Fox et al. have already demonized Dominion. There is no reversing that, so they might as well go for revenge.

Begin, the Dominion Wars have

oh fun thing about that "most trusted name in news" graphic - they basically ran their own poll self-selecting for FOX viewers. the actual YouGov survey had FOX second from the bottom. the only one lower was Breitbart.

Okay IT IS HAPPENING (of course it could still always be settled at any point). No TV coverage nor public audio line, nor tweeting/posting from within the courtroom. Various amounts of people tweeting from the media overflow room which has audio and video; I'm following Wemple (it's his beat after all) and Scott MacFarlane, who seems to be doing more regular posting. 12 jurors selected, they're working on a further 12 alternates, eight to go and working on a fast clip per MacFarlane a few minutes back, so opening statements will be happening sometime today. Some tidbits:

Judge has estimated this will be a SIX WEEK trial. He admonished attorneys a few moments ago... warning he will be diligent about staying on track & staying on schedule

If there are lengthy objections made.. "They'll come out of your time" ... Judge Eric Davis warns attorneys

— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) April 18, 2023

And in terms of evidence being introduced:

NEW: Dominion’s updated trial exhibit list includes 7000+ items, including dozens of emails from Rupert Murdoch and a series of messages from Sean Hannity to Murdoch

Final item (exhibit 7,021): “Fox and Friends” broadcast from Nov 15, 2020

— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) April 18, 2023

Other items listed on Dominion’s updates trial exhibit list:

Emails received by Dominion on that read “You evil motherf****”, “Justice doesn’t need witnesses”, “Gitmo soon for you and your friends!!”

— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) April 18, 2023

The first several items listed on Dominion’s newly-filed updated trial exhibit list include Lou Dobbs show transcripts, Dobbs tweets, “Justice with Jeanine” transcript and social posts .. and video of “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo” videos and transcript.

— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) April 18, 2023

Also, roffle

True: Caley Cronin, a PR rep for Fox News, was summoned from Davis's courtroom and directed to the overflow room for having taken a photograph in the courtroom before the day's proceedings. 6/

— ErikWemple (@ErikWemple) April 18, 2023

burn in hell FNC

Jury selection's done, so here it all goes!

Live updates also happening here and I'm sure plenty of other similar spots:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2023/04/18/dominion-fox-trial/

Also sounds like there IS in fact a live phone feed for the public but anyway.

Strike that, I think people are being understandable wishful/confused. Won't update with EVERY tweet on this thread but this sounds fun:

The most updated Trial Exhibit list from Dominion includes approximately a dozen emails from Rupert Murdoch to Lachlan Murdoch (including one with subject line “Trump”)

There are also several exhibits described as “email from R. Murdoch to J. Kushner”

— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) April 18, 2023

Right after the jurors and alternate jurors were sworn in, one alternate juror told the judge he couldn’t participate.

“I’ve been up all night — I can’t do this,” he said, without explaining further.

The judge met with him a moment later and excused him. Another alternate juror was quickly sworn in.

i have jury duty on may 1 and am going to remember this move

"But it's about a jaywalking tick--"

"I CAN'T!"

Up all night to get excused

May I approach the bench? I can't go through this
I've been up all night - I just can't do this

- Don Henley, Jury Duty Blues 1991

Extended delay on day one from a judge that promised to keep things moving perhaps implies more settlement talk in progress.

Indeed, but my guess remains that the closer this gets to actually starting the more Fox News is desperately trying to square its circle. We'll see!

I'm not sure why Dominion would settle for anything less than what they initially asked for when they filed their suit. The best reason for FOX to agree to full capitulation would be to avoid the nightly spectacle of other networks reporting their daily disaster in the courtroom for weeks on end. But what might be the tipping point is Rupert Murdoch deciding he doesn't want his emails aired in public and shutting the whole thing down as the cost of preserving his privacy.

can FOX really afford to pay 1.6 billion or whatever it is? that would ruin them

Weren’t there rumors that Murdoch wasn’t involved in the Fox business anymore because of dementia?

Murdoch has a net worth of 17.5 billion dollars. xp

Yeah, I think Dominion squashed rumors that they were negotiating a settlement

Jury trials can be tricky, but they have no shortage of evidence, it appears

A treat

During the lunch break, court posted new order from Judge Eric Davis. He has officially ordered a special master to review whether FOX "complied with their discovery obligations" in this defamation case

Note the language below:

"Send invoices only to FOX" pic.twitter.com/HDMsOrqMOq

— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) April 18, 2023

I’m not a lawyer but am married to a litigator who does trials. Typically the the judge and trial lawyers have nothing to do with settlement negotiations. I noticed the judge made no mention of why he delayed the trial for a day. So maybe this talk of settlement is nonsense, which would track with the plaintiffs’ announced refusal to settle?

Or not!

ALERT: SETTLEMENT in case

— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) April 18, 2023

Gonna be fascinating to learn about the pound of flesh here.

Dammit. The more light that was shone on FOX's shady bullshit the better, this feels disappointing.

Hahah THIS says a lot:

Judge thanks the New Castle County, Delaware jurors for their service

"It was extremely important. Without you the parties wouldn't have been able to resolve their situation"

— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) April 18, 2023

I'll add in my own limited jury experience -- of the couple of times I've been called for cases, once I was with a pool of people waiting to come into the courtroom; at one point looking into the courtroom -- I think the door wasn't necessarily held open but we could occasionally see in -- we could see someone, I'm guessing a defendant, learning earnestly to what I presume was his counsel. After about something like an hour we were told the case, whatever it was, had been settled. Shortly afterward -- might have been on the day, maybe a little later -- I heard that this was incredibly common, and that basically once one party realized that this was absolutely it (and especially if there wasn't any real sense that they could win or succeed otherwise, and/or didn't want a lot more to get on the public record) that settling/pleading/etc was the only way out.

So point being, this may mean no fireworks/deeper delves, but we've had a lot more already than has been had in a dog's age in terms of on the record behind the scenes stuff. I'll take it over nothing at all! (Also, the possibility that, say, DOJ has access to a number of communications as relevant for other matters is not miniscule.)

little late for any kind of gag order though... cat's out of the bag

Yup. Whatever this settlement is, Dominion called the majority of the shots.

Again, I'm reading a LOT into this, and maybe too much if this is simply standard rhetoric, but it feels of a purpose:

Judge to jury "The case has been resolved. And it was resolved because of you"

— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) April 18, 2023

xxp Ned, I had a really similar situation I described recently... we sat around for five hours (landlord/tenant case) and when they saw all the people waiting around to serve, the parties quietly decided to settle instead

I wanna see a picture of Murdoch handing over one of those giant novelty checks to Dominion

afaics, FOX losing was a 99% certainty. Then factor in that an outraged jury often makes awards that exceed what the plaintiff asked for. Whatever Dominion settled for, it's a better outcome for FOX than going to trial.

curious about the terms, and how they prevent the usual suspects at Fox from spouting off further defamatory bullshit.

Xp Ned, I would presume that’s standard rhetoric (i.e. thanking the jury for their service even though they didn’t sit as a jury).

FLASH: $787.5 million dollar settlement pic.twitter.com/IN316UUzbB

— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) April 18, 2023

Dominion CEO: “Fox has admitted telling lies” pic.twitter.com/Ic28NBecw8

— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) April 18, 2023

700 mil is not enough