Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis announced plans to appoint a special master in Dominion’s $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News to determine whether the news outlet lied about Rupert Murdoch’s role in the company.
Davis signaled his intent to appoint a special master while issuing sanctions against Fox News on Wednesday after Dominion revealed Fox News is handing over new evidence just days before the trial is set to start on Monday.
Davis said on Tuesday that Fox News’ attorneys had “represented to him more than once” that Murdoch was not an officer for Fox News.
However, Fox News revealed in court that Murdoch is the executive chairman of Fox News as well as serves as the chair of its parent company Fox Corporation.
Dominion attorney Justin Nelson argued they had “been litigating based upon this false premise that Rupert Murdoch wasn’t an officer of Fox News,” consequently missing out on crucial information during earlier stages of the lawsuit that could have been obtained in light of Murdoch’s status as executive chairman of Fox News.
“There’s no way to fix it on the eve of trial,” Nelson said.
Dominion’s defamation lawsuit accuses Fox News of harming its reputation by airing both former President Donald Trump’s and his attorneys’ claims that Dominion’s voting machines were used to rig the election.
However, Fox News attorneys argued the company did not intentionally withhold evidence and that Murdoch plays no role in the daily operations of Fox News.
“Mr. Rupert Murdoch has nothing to do with making decisions with what goes on the air on Fox News,” Dan Webb told the court.
Fox News also cited Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings that show Murdoch’s status as an officer of Fox News.
“Rupert Murdoch has been listed as executive chairman of FOX News in our SEC filings since 2019 and this filing was referenced by Dominion’s own attorney during his deposition,” Fox News said in a statement on Tuesday.
Judge Davis ordered Fox News’ attorneys to preserve “any and all communications” relating to Murdoch’s role in the company.
“I need people to tell me the truth,” Davis said. “And, by the way, omission is a lie.”
“People need to understand. Don’t play games with this stuff,” Davis said as he reportedly directed his frustrations toward Fox News’ attorneys.
A Fox Corporation shareholder on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Murdoch and other members of Fox Corporation’s board, alleging they failed to protect Fox News’ reputation.
Watch: Weissmann: After Dominion Lawmakers, Election Workers, Capitol Police Could Sue Fox News
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.