NEW YORK (AP) — Without giving a reason, the Delaware judge presiding over the $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit brought by a voting machine company against Fox News announced Sunday night that he will postpone the start of of the process until Tuesday.
The trial, which has attracted international interest, was scheduled to begin Monday morning with jury selection and opening arguments.
The case revolves around whether Fox smeared Dominion Voting Systems by propagating false claims that the company rigged the 2020 presidential election to prevent the re-election of former President Donald Trump. Records filed as part of the lawsuit show that many of the network’s anchors and executives did not believe the allegations, but broadcast them anyway.
Claire Bischoff, a Dominion spokeswoman, said the company would not comment on the postponement. Representatives for Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corp., which are representing the accused party, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In his statement, Judge Eric Davis of the Delaware Superior Court limited himself to saying that the trial, including jury selection, will continue until Tuesday and that he will announce the adjournment on Monday in court.
It was then that Fox News executives and the network’s all-star anchors were scheduled to begin answering for their role in spreading doubt about the 2022 presidential election and creating a deep, lingering wound in American democracy.
Jurors selected to hear Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit will have to answer a specific question: Did Fox smear the voting machine company by airing false reports that the election was rigged against then-President Trump, even though many of network members doubted behind closed doors the false claims being promoted by Trump and his allies?
However, the context carries enormous weight. A trial would test press freedom and the reputation of conservatives’ favorite news source. It would also expose the flow of misinformation that helped spark the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol and continues to fuel Trump’s hopes of regaining power in 2024.
Fox News stars Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, as well as founder Rupert Murdoch, are among those scheduled to testify.
Barring an agreement, opening arguments are now scheduled to begin Tuesday. ___ Associated Press writers Randall Chase, in Dover, Delaware; and Jennifer Peltz, in New York, contributed to this report.
