Politics

By Jack Queen

(Reuters) – Fox News on Tuesday disposed of one legal threat with its $787.5 million defamation settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, but the network still faces a $2.7 billion lawsuit from another voting technology company, Smartmatic USA, over its coverage of debunked election-rigging claims.

Dominion accused Fox and its parent company Fox Corp of ruining its business by airing claims that its machines were used to rig the 2020 U.S. presidential election in favor of Democrat Joe Biden and against then-president Donald Trump, a Republican.

Fox and its parent company Fox Corp averted a six-week trial in Delaware Superior Court with the deal, which is half of the $1.6 billion Dominion sought but still by far the largest ever defamation settlement publicly announced by an American media company, according to legal experts.

Fox, one of the most influential cable networks in the world and home to many conservative commentators, acknowledged in a statement Tuesday that the judge found “certain claims about Dominion to be false” and said it hopes the deal helps the country “move forward with these issues.”

But Fox’s lawyers will stay busy navigating the legal fallout of the network’s 2020 election coverage with a potentially far more damaging defamation lawsuit by voting technology company Smartmatic, as well as a separate but related lawsuit by a recently fired producer.

Fox representatives referred Reuters to prior statements on the cases. The network has firmly denied the allegations in both cases.

It is unclear if Fox’s deal with Dominion indicates it is willing to settle with Smartmatic, but experts who are not part of the litigation suggested it could help kickstart talks.

“Smartmatic now has a bargaining chip, and Fox has shown it is willing to take out its checkbook and write a big check,” said University of Tennessee, Knoxville media law professor Stuart Brotman. “From Fox’s standpoint, now that they realize they can get a successful settlement, they have a basis for a real discussion with Smartmatic.”

Smartmatic is seeking $2.7 billion in damages from Fox and five individuals, including former Trump lawyers and hosts.

Smartmatic alleges in its lawsuit in New York County Supreme Court that the defendants knowingly spread false claims that its software was used to flip votes. Conspiracy theorists erroneously claimed Smartmatic owned Dominion, and the companies mounted similar allegations in their lawsuits.

Smartmatic attorney J. Erik Connolly said in a statement Tuesday the company is committed to clearing its name, recouping the damage done to it and “holding Fox accountable for undermining democracy.”

Fox denies the allegations, saying in a recent statement the network had a right to report on highly newsworthy allegations of voter fraud. It has also called Smartmatic’s damages claims “outrageous, unsupported, and not rooted in sound financial analysis.”

Fox was recently dealt a setback in the case after an appeals court declined to toss it, finding Smartmatic alleged in “detailed fashion” how Fox “effectively endorsed and participated” in defamation.

Meanwhile, Fox has given no public indication that it is interested in settling the lawsuit by the former producer, Abby Grossberg, whose lawyers said in a statement Tuesday they are seeking “meaningful institutional changes at Fox News.”

Any such changes were absent from the public announcement of the Dominion settlement and could potentially be a major sticking point in any negotiations, legal experts said.

Grossberg alleges she was exposed to sexism at Fox and unjustly fired after she objected to what she claims were efforts to pressure her into giving misleading testimony in the Dominion case.

Fox has said the allegations are “baseless” and were immediately investigated by outside lawyers. The network also says it will “vigorously” defend itself against all of Grossberg’s claims.

(Reporting by Jack Queen; editing by Amy Stevens and Lincoln Feast)

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By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Manhattan prosecutor who got Donald Trump indicted is set to face off in court on Wednesday against one of the former U.S. president’s staunchest Republican allies in Congress over a House committee’s probe of Trump’s criminal case.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, last week sued Representative Jim Jordan to block a subpoena for testimony from Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor who once led the office’s multi-year investigation of Trump.

The subpoena came from the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, which Jordan chairs.

A hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) in federal court in Manhattan before U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil.

Bragg has called the subpoena an unconstitutional “incursion” into a state criminal case, and payback for charging Trump in the first indictment of a former U.S. president.

The subpoena is part of a plan to “intimidate, harass, retaliate, and hold ‘accountable’ District Attorney Bragg for enforcing New York’s criminal law against a then-New Yorker, Mr. Trump,” Bragg’s lawyers said in a Tuesday filing.

Jordan countered that lawmakers needed Pomerantz’s testimony, now scheduled for Thursday, as they weigh legislation to let presidents move state criminal actions to federal court. He said the subpoena was covered by constitutional protection for “speech or debate” in Congress.

Pomerantz urged Vyskocil to block the subpoena and said he played no role in Bragg’s decision to charge Trump.

Trump, the Republican frontrunner in the 2024 presidential campaign, pleaded not guilty on April 4 to 34 felony charges over a hush money payment made before the 2016 election to porn star Stormy Daniels, to prevent her from discussing a sexual encounter she said they had. He denies the liaison took place.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

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By Andrew Chung

lWASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday faces a self-imposed deadline to act before significant limits on access to the abortion pill mifepristone take effect in a challenge by anti-abortion groups to the drug’s federal regulatory approval.

Conservative Justice Samuel Alito on Friday temporarily halted lower court rulings setting the restrictions until 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday (0359 GMT Thursday) to give the top U.S. judicial body time to weigh a bid by Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration to defend the mifepristone’s broad availability while litigation continues.

Alito handles emergency matters arising from a group of states including Texas. His action froze the litigation while the Supreme Court considers emergency requests by the Justice Department and the pill’s manufacturer Danco Laboratories to put on hold an April 7 preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Texas that would greatly limit mifepristone’s availability.

The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, is expected to act before the deadline to either grant or reject the requests or further pause the litigation. The justices could also fail to act, which would let the restrictions go ahead.

The administration is seeking to defend mifepristone in the face of mounting abortion bans and restrictions enacted by Republican-led states since the Supreme Court in June 2022 overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that had legalized the procedure nationwide. Alito authored that ruling.

The administration and Danco told the justices in their filings that mifepristone might not be available for months if the restrictions were allowed to take effect.

In a case that could undercut federal regulatory authority over drug safety, the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on April 12 declined to block the curbs ordered by Kacsmaryk. The 5th Circuit did halt a part of Kacsmaryk’s order that would have suspended the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the drug in 2000 and effectively pull it off the market. The FDA is the U.S. agency that signs off on the safety of food products, drugs and medical devices.

The restrictions would roll back actions taken by the FDA since 2016 to facilitate access to mifepristone after confirming the medication’s safety and efficacy. The revived restrictions would include limiting its use to the first seven weeks of pregnancy, down from the current 10, and a requirement for three in-person doctor visits to obtain a medication abortion.

Mifepristone is used in combination with another drug called misoprostol to perform medication abortions, which account for more than half of all U.S. abortions.

Reuters/Ipsos public opinion polling shows little support for recent steps to further restrict abortion access.

    A majority of Americans – some 68%, including 46% of Republicans – oppose Kacsmaryk’s decision overturning FDA approval of mifepristone. Some 56% of respondents said they have an unfavorable view of the Supreme Court.

(Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham and Scott Malone)

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By Katharine Jackson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday expressed support for the Supreme Court’s chief justice as Democrats urge him to investigate luxury trips taken by Justice Clarence Thomas that were paid for by a Republican donor.

“I have total confidence in the Chief Justice of the United States to deal with these court internal issues,” McConnell told reporters.

Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats, in a letter sent to Chief Justice John Roberts on April 10, said Thomas’ conduct violated ethical standards.

The committee plans to hold a hearing on the matter but a date has not yet been announced.

ProPublica reported on April 6 that Thomas accepted expensive trips from Republican donor and real estate magnate Harlan Crow over decades without disclosing them.

Thomas defended the trips, saying he had been advised he was not required to report that type of “personal hospitality.” But the conservative justice said he would abide by new, tighter rules that recently took effect.

(Reporting by Katharine Jackson and Moira Warburton in Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Cynthia Osterman)

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden and his wife Jill released their federal tax return on Tuesday, showing the couple earned nearly $580,000 last year and paid an effective federal income tax rate of 23.8%.

The Bidens also donated roughly 3.5% of their income, or $20,180, to 20 charities, including one associated with U.S. police unions.

The annual disclosure ahead of the deadline at midnight Tuesday for most Americans to file their tax returns comes before a 2024 presidential race in which Biden is expected to seek a second four-year term.

Such a contest could set up a re-run of the 2020 presidential election between Biden, a Democrat, and Republican former President Donald Trump. In contrast to Republicans, Biden has proposed higher taxes on corporations and individuals making over $400,000 per year.

Trump broke with the tradition of presidents making their federal tax returns public, saying he was not able to do so while being audited by the Internal Revenue Service, even as the agency claimed he was free to release them.

The Bidens reported 2022 federal adjusted gross income of $579,514 and paid $137,658 in federal income tax. The previous year, Biden’s first as president, they reported $610,702 in income.

Biden draws a $400,000 wage as president of the United States. Jill Biden earned $82,335 from her job teaching English at Northern Virginia Community College.

The remainder of their income is drawn from investment interest, pensions, annuities, distributions from retirement accounts and Social Security as well as a corporation that collects their book royalties, according to the joint tax return.

Their charitable donations included contributions to churches and organizations focused on helping children and first responders, including $2,000 to the National Fraternal Order of Police Foundation.

The National Fraternal Order of Police, the biggest U.S. officers’ union, endorsed Trump in 2020 and has opposed many of Biden’s proposed reforms in the aftermath of George Floyd’s 2020 murder in the custody of a former Minneapolis police officer.

Their charitable organization, the National Fraternal Order of Police Foundation, holds an annual memorial service for law enforcement officials who die in the line of duty, which Biden has addressed as president.

“The National Fraternal Order of Police Foundation does important work serving the families of officers who have given their lives in the line of duty,” said White House spokesperson Andrew Bates. “President Biden recognizes the sacrifices made by fallen officers and their families, including when he speaks at the National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service.”

Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, reported federal adjusted gross income of $456,918, paying $93,570 in federal income tax for an effective federal income tax rate of 20.5%.

The income included $219,171 in salary paid to Harris by the U.S. Senate, $62,870 from her books and $169,665 earned by Emhoff at Georgetown University Law Center, where he teaches. They contributed roughly 5% of their income, or $23,000, to charity, according to the joint return.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Chris Reese and Cynthia Osterman)

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By Helen Coster and Jack Queen

WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) -Fox Corp and Fox News on Tuesday settled a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million, averting a high-profile trial putting one of the world’s top media companies in the crosshairs over its coverage of false vote-rigging claims in the 2020 U.S. election.

The settlement was announced by the two sides and the judge in the case at the 11th hour, with a jury selected just hours earlier in Delaware and the trial poised to kick off with opening statements. Dominion had sought $1.6 billion in damages in the lawsuit filed in 2021.

Dominion CEO John Poulos called the settlement “historic.”

“Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion that caused enormous damage to my company, our employees and our customers,” Poulos said in a statement. “Nothing can ever make up for that. Throughout this process, we have sought accountability and believe the evidence brought to light through this case underscores the consequences of spreading and endorsing lies.”

At issue in the lawsuit was whether Fox was liable for airing the false claims that Denver-based Dominion’s ballot-counting machines were used to manipulate the 2020 U.S. election in favor of Democrat Joe Biden over Republican then-President Donald Trump. Dominion had argued that these on-air claims caused the company “enormous and irreparable economic harm.”

“We acknowledge the court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false. This settlement reflects Fox’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards. We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues,” Fox said in a statement that was read on air on Fox News.

Shares of Fox Corp closed up slightly at $34 per share, but were down 1% in after-hours trading after the settlement amount was disclosed. Fox has plenty of cash on hand to pay for a settlement. It committed another $3 billion to buy back shares in the first quarter after revenues beat estimates. Fox Corp CEO Lachlan Murdoch told Wall Street analysts in February that the company had about $4 billion cash on hand.

Dominion lawyers declined to answer questions about whether Fox News would apologize publicly or make reforms.

Fox News is the most-watched U.S. cable news network, according to Nielsen.

“Truthful reporting in the media is essential to our democracy,” Dominion’s Poulos said.

Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis, presiding over the case in Wilmington, had ordered a one-day trial postponement on Monday before another delay on Tuesday, as the two sides hammered out a deal in private.

The deal spared Fox the peril of having some of its best-known figures called to the witness stand and subjected to potentially withering questioning, including executives such as Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old media mogul who serves as Fox Corp chairman, and Fox CEO Suzanne Scott as well as on-air hosts including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro.

The primary question for jurors was to be whether Fox knowingly spread false information or recklessly disregarded the truth, the standard of “actual malice” that Dominion must show to prevail in a defamation case.

In February court filings, Dominion cited a trove of internal communications in which Murdoch and other Fox figures privately acknowledged that the vote-rigging claims made about Dominion on-air were false.

Dominion said Fox amplified the untrue claims to boost its ratings and prevent its viewers from migrating to other media competitors on the right including One America News Network, which Dominion is suing separately.

ANOTHER LAWSUIT PENDING

Adding to the legal risks for Fox, another U.S. voting technology company, Smartmatic, is pursuing its own defamation lawsuit seeking $2.7 billion in damages in a New York state court. Fox Corp reported nearly $14 billion in annual revenue last year.

“Fox’s statement about the settlement makes clear that Fox acknowledges ‘the court’s ruling finding certain claims about Dominion were false,’” said Mary-Rose Papandrea, a constitutional law professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law. “For many plaintiffs, a court holding, and admission by the defendant about falsity, are even more important than any actual money damages.”

Fox had argued that claims by Trump and his lawyers about the election were inherently newsworthy and protected by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. Davis ruled in March that Fox could not use those arguments, finding its coverage was false, defamatory and not protected by the First Amendment.

Dominion in 2021 sued Fox Corp and Fox News, contending that its business was ruined by the false vote-rigging claims that were aired by the influential American cable news outlet known for its roster of conservative commentators.

The trial was to have been a test of whether Fox’s coverage crossed the line between ethical journalism and the pursuit of ratings, as Dominion alleges and Fox denies. Fox had portrayed itself in the pretrial skirmishing as a defender of press freedom.

The complaints referenced instances in which Trump allies including his former lawyers Rudolph Giuliani and Sidney Powell appeared on Fox News to advance the false allegations.

Dominion obtained internal communications and testimony from Murdoch and other Fox News executives and commentators. Murdoch internally described the election-rigging claims as “really crazy” and “damaging” but declined to wield his editorial power to stop them and conceded under oath that some Fox hosts nonetheless “endorsed” the baseless claims, Dominion told the court in a filing.

Under questioning from a Dominion lawyer, Murdoch testified that he thought everything about the election was on the “up-and-up” and doubted the rigging claims from the very beginning, according to Dominion’s filing.

Asked if he could have intervened to stop Giuliani from continuing to spread falsehoods on air, Murdoch responded, “I could have. But I didn’t,” the filing said.

(Reporting by Helen Coster in Wilmington and Jack Queen in New York; writing by Tom Hals; editing by Will Dunham and Noeleen Walder)

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By Dan Whitcomb

(Reuters) – Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie joined former U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday in criticizing a fellow Republican, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, over his feud with the Walt Disney Co..

DeSantis, a likely presidential candidate, fired new salvos this week in his ongoing bid to win more state oversight over Disney’s operations in Florida after the entertainment conglomerate criticized his Parental Rights in Education Act, which critics have slammed as a “Don’t Say Gay” law.

“I’m a conservative, and I believe as a conservative, the job of government is… to stay out of the business of business,” Christie told internet news website Semafor in an interview on Tuesday.

“I don’t think Ron DeSantis is a conservative based on his actions towards Disney,” added Christie, who is also said to be considering a run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Trump, who could be DeSantis’ top rival for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, has called the Florida governor’s war with Disney a “political stunt” and suggested it could backfire on the party.

DeSantis on Monday said the state’s Republican-led legislature would take steps to nullify Disney’s effort to circumvent his oversight of Walt Disney World by revoking a development agreement the company struck with outgoing members of a state board.

The bad blood between DeSantis and one of Florida’s largest employers began in March 2022, when Disney’s then-Chief Executive Bob Chapek spoke out against a bill limiting discussion of sexuality and “gender identity” in elementary schools.

DeSantis and the Florida legislature have been working to eliminate the virtual autonomy the company has enjoyed over the Disney World resort and amusement parks for more than 50 years, saying that constitutes an “unfair advantage.” Disney employs some 75,000 people in the state.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Additional reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

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By Helen Coster and Jack Queen

WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) -Fox Corp and Fox News on Tuesday settled a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million, averting a trial putting one of the world’s top media companies in the crosshairs over its coverage of false vote-rigging claims in the 2020 U.S. election.

The settlement, which legal experts said was the largest struck by an American media company, was announced by the two sides and the judge in the case at the 11th hour.

The jury had been selected earlier in the day and the trial poised for opening statements in Wilmington, Delaware. Dominion had sought $1.6 billion in damages in the lawsuit filed in 2021.

Dominion CEO John Poulos called the settlement “historic.”

“Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion that caused enormous damage to my company, our employees and our customers,” Poulos said in a statement.

“Truthful reporting in the media is essential to our democracy,” Poulos said.

At issue in the lawsuit was whether Fox was liable for airing the false claims that Denver-based Dominion’s ballot-counting machines were used to manipulate the presidential election in favor of Democrat Joe Biden over then-President Donald Trump, a Republican.

Tuesday’s settlement spared Fox the peril of having some of its best-known figures called to the witness stand and subjected to potentially withering questioning, including executives such as Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old who serves as Fox Corp chairman, as well as on-air hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro.

Fox anchor Neil Cavuto broke into his news show “Your World” about 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to report the settlement. A statement by Fox was read on air.

“We are pleased to have reached a settlement of our dispute with Dominion Voting Systems,” the statement said. “We acknowledge the Court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false. This settlement reflects FOX’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards. We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues.”

FOX HAS BILLIONS IN CASH

Shares of Fox Corp closed up slightly at $34 per share, but were down 1% in after-hours trading following disclosure of the settlement amount. Fox has cash on hand to pay for a settlement. It committed $3 billion to buy back shares in the first quarter after revenues beat estimates. Fox Corp CEO Lachlan Murdoch told Wall Street analysts in February that the company had about $4 billion cash on hand.

Dominion lawyers declined to answer questions about whether Fox News would apologize publicly or make changes.

Fox News is the most-watched U.S. cable news network.

The settlement of $787.5 million is the largest amount of money paid to conclude an American media libel case, said Richard Tofel, principal of Gallatin Advisory. The previously highest payment occurred in 2017 when Walt Disney Co paid $177 million, in addition to insurance recoveries, to settle the “pink slime” defamation case against its ABC network by Beef Products Inc.

Dominion sued Fox Corp and Fox News, contending that its business was ruined by the false vote-rigging claims that were aired by the news outlet known for its roster of conservative commentators. The trial was to have tested whether Fox’s coverage crossed the line between ethical journalism and the pursuit of ratings, as Dominion alleged and Fox denied. Fox had portrayed itself in the pretrial skirmishing as a defender of press freedom.

Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis, presiding over the case, had ordered a one-day trial postponement on Monday. Fox was pursuing settlement talks, two sources familiar with the matter said. Davis delayed the trial on Tuesday, as the two sides appeared to hammer out the deal in private.

The primary question for jurors was to be whether Fox knowingly spread false information or recklessly disregarded the truth, the standard of “actual malice” that Dominion must show to prevail in a defamation case.

In February court filings, Dominion cited a trove of internal communications in which Murdoch and other Fox figures privately acknowledged that the vote-rigging claims made about Dominion on-air were false. Dominion said Fox amplified the untrue claims to boost its ratings and prevent its viewers from migrating to other media competitors on the right.

ANOTHER LAWSUIT PENDING

Adding to the legal risks for Fox, another U.S. voting technology company, Smartmatic, is pursuing its own defamation lawsuit seeking $2.7 billion in damages in a New York state court.

“For many plaintiffs, a court holding, and admission by the defendant about falsity, are even more important than any actual money damages,” said Mary-Rose Papandrea, a constitutional law professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Fox had earlier argued that claims by Trump and his lawyers about the election were inherently newsworthy and protected by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. Davis ruled in March that Fox could not use those arguments as a defense, finding its coverage was false, defamatory and not protected by the First Amendment.

The lawsuit referenced instances in which Trump allies including his former lawyers Rudolph Giuliani and Sidney Powell appeared on Fox News to advance the false allegations.

Murdoch internally described the election-rigging claims as “really crazy” and “damaging” but declined to wield his editorial power to stop them and conceded under oath that some Fox hosts nonetheless “endorsed” the baseless claims, Dominion told the court in a filing.

Under questioning from a Dominion lawyer, Murdoch testified that he thought everything about the election was on the “up-and-up” and doubted the rigging claims from the very beginning, according to Dominion’s filing.

Asked if he could have intervened to stop Giuliani from continuing to spread falsehoods on air, Murdoch responded, “I could have. But I didn’t,” the filing said.

(Reporting by Helen Coster in Wilmington and Jack Queen in New York; writing by Tom Hals; editing by Will Dunham, Noeleen Walder and Grant McCool)

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WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) – Fox Corp and Fox News on Tuesday settled a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million, averting a trial putting one of the world’s top media companies in the crosshairs over its coverage of false vote-rigging claims in the 2020 U.S. election.

The settlement, which legal experts said was the largest struck by an American media company, was announced by the two sides and the judge in the case at the 11th hour.

The jury had been selected earlier in the day and the trial poised for opening statements in Wilmington, Delaware. Dominion had sought $1.6 billion in damages in the lawsuit filed in 2021.

Dominion CEO John Poulos called the settlement “historic.”

“Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion that caused enormous damage to my company, our employees and our customers,” Poulos said in a statement.

“Truthful reporting in the media is essential to our democracy,” Poulos said.

At issue in the lawsuit was whether Fox was liable for airing the false claims that Denver-based Dominion’s ballot-counting machines were used to manipulate the presidential election in favor of Democrat Joe Biden over then-President Donald Trump, a Republican.

Tuesday’s settlement spared Fox the peril of having some of its best-known figures called to the witness stand and subjected to potentially withering questioning, including executives such as Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old who serves as Fox Corp chairman, as well as on-air hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro.

Fox anchor Neil Cavuto broke into his news show “Your World” about 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to report the settlement. A statement by Fox was read on air.

“We are pleased to have reached a settlement of our dispute with Dominion Voting Systems,” the statement said. “We acknowledge the Court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false. This settlement reflects FOX’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards. We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues.”

FOX HAS BILLIONS IN CASH

Shares of Fox Corp closed up slightly at $34 per share, but were down 1% in after-hours trading following disclosure of the settlement amount. Fox has cash on hand to pay for a settlement. It committed $3 billion to buy back shares in the first quarter after revenues beat estimates. Fox Corp CEO Lachlan Murdoch told Wall Street analysts in February that the company had about $4 billion cash on hand.

Dominion lawyers declined to answer questions about whether Fox News would apologize publicly or make changes.

Fox News is the most-watched U.S. cable news network.

The settlement of $787.5 million is the largest amount of money paid to conclude an American media libel case, said Richard Tofel, principal of Gallatin Advisory. The previously highest payment occurred in 2017 when Walt Disney Co paid $177 million, in addition to insurance recoveries, to settle the “pink slime” defamation case against its ABC network by Beef Products Inc.

Dominion sued Fox Corp and Fox News, contending that its business was ruined by the false vote-rigging claims that were aired by the news outlet known for its roster of conservative commentators. The trial was to have tested whether Fox’s coverage crossed the line between ethical journalism and the pursuit of ratings, as Dominion alleged and Fox denied. Fox had portrayed itself in the pretrial skirmishing as a defender of press freedom.

Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis, presiding over the case, had ordered a one-day trial postponement on Monday. Fox was pursuing settlement talks, two sources familiar with the matter said. Davis delayed the trial on Tuesday, as the two sides appeared to hammer out the deal in private.

The primary question for jurors was to be whether Fox knowingly spread false information or recklessly disregarded the truth, the standard of “actual malice” that Dominion must show to prevail in a defamation case.

In February court filings, Dominion cited a trove of internal communications in which Murdoch and other Fox figures privately acknowledged that the vote-rigging claims made about Dominion on-air were false. Dominion said Fox amplified the untrue claims to boost its ratings and prevent its viewers from migrating to other media competitors on the right.

ANOTHER LAWSUIT PENDING

Adding to the legal risks for Fox, another U.S. voting technology company, Smartmatic, is pursuing its own defamation lawsuit seeking $2.7 billion in damages in a New York state court.

“For many plaintiffs, a court holding, and admission by the defendant about falsity, are even more important than any actual money damages,” said Mary-Rose Papandrea, a constitutional law professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Fox had earlier argued that claims by Trump and his lawyers about the election were inherently newsworthy and protected by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. Davis ruled in March that Fox could not use those arguments as a defense, finding its coverage was false, defamatory and not protected by the First Amendment.

The lawsuit referenced instances in which Trump allies including his former lawyers Rudolph Giuliani and Sidney Powell appeared on Fox News to advance the false allegations.

Murdoch internally described the election-rigging claims as “really crazy” and “damaging” but declined to wield his editorial power to stop them and conceded under oath that some Fox hosts nonetheless “endorsed” the baseless claims, Dominion told the court in a filing.

Under questioning from a Dominion lawyer, Murdoch testified that he thought everything about the election was on the “up-and-up” and doubted the rigging claims from the very beginning, according to Dominion’s filing.

Asked if he could have intervened to stop Giuliani from continuing to spread falsehoods on air, Murdoch responded, “I could have. But I didn’t,” the filing said.

(Reporting by Helen Coster in Wilmington and Jack Queen in New York; writing by Tom Hals; editing by Will Dunham, Noeleen Walder and Grant McCool)

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By Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden, facing congressional resistance to his proposals, will announce more than 50 executive actions on Tuesday aimed at advancing free preschool and expanding care for children, older Americans and those with disabilities.

Domestic Policy Council Director Susan Rice said Biden would continue to press lawmakers to approve $750 billion in fundingfor those areas over 10 years as outlined in his 2024 budget.

But in the meantime, he is directing federal agencies to adopt measures that do not involve new spending to increase Americans’ access to high-quality childcare and long-term care.

“The president’s not going to wait to take action to address our nation’s care crisis,” Rice told reporters. Biden’s order will have more than 50 executive actions, she said.

The White House is betting child- and elder-care programs, which are very popular with the public, can boost Biden’s approval ratings as he nears an announcement of his candidacy for the 2024 presidential race.

Biden is directing nearly every federal agency to identify grant programs that can pay for childcare and long-term care benefits for workers on federal projects, and consider requiring companies applying for federal job-creation funds to expand access to care for their workers.

The Commerce Department pioneered this approach last month when it required companies seeking major funding under its $52 billion U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and research program to show how they will help workers access affordable childcare.

Other measures would improve access to home-based care for veterans, boost pay for early childhood educators, improve the quality of jobs caring for the elderly and those with disabilities and promote the right of care workers to unionize.

Heather Boushey of the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) said childcare and eldercare shortages and soaring costs limited the ability of many women to work, dampening economic growth.

She noted a recent Boston Consulting Group forecast that U.S. economic output could drop by $290 billion a year beginning in 2030 if critical care shortages and affordability were not addressed.

Senior administration officials declined to estimate the dollar value of Biden’s actions and said the administration wants to implement the changes quickly.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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