Fox News is beginning preparations for its defense against a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit brought forth by Dominion Voting Systems. Former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly believes a major portion of that defense should be centered on working with Rupert Murdoch.
O’Reilly told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo that there are both good and bad outcomes so far for the cable news outlet in the pre-trial motions, but said Murdoch likely won’t come across well on the stand.
“Rupert Murdoch will be called very quickly, and a good lawyer will not make him look good. There’s no doubt about it. So you would think that Rupert Murdoch who calls his shots, would try to settle,” O’Reilly said.
He then stated that, in his estimation, it’s unlikely that Dominion would settle the case because it believes there’s a high likelihood of victory.
“It’s asking the jury of regular folks, who will give it punitive damages as well, which could lift it up to $2 billion dollars. Now, a federal judge will bust that down, but it’s a catastrophe for the Fox News Channel. No cameras in the courtroom? That’s a benefit to Fox…Every, literally every news organization covering the trial, wants Fox to lose. A hundred percent.”
O’Reilly continued by saying that Dominion “is going to be able to show” that Fox News acted with a “reckless disregard for the truth”, and will likely emerge from the lawsuit victorious.
The former Fox News host has shared his thoughts on the potential loss for Fox, stating that “The Fox News haters see it as an opportunity to destroy that business once and for all,” while appearing on The Glenn Beck Program late last month.
