'Unequivocal rebuke': Ex-prosecutor has never seen anything like Fox's 'jaw-dropping' payout to Dominion
Fox News managed to broker a $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, mere minutes before opening statements were scheduled to begin in a landmark trial over the right-wing network's promotion of conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election. The move spares Fox from having to put its top anchors on the stand.
However, it didn't come cheap, said former federal prosecutor Elie Honig on CNN's "The Lead" Tuesday.
"[Fox's] fact statement did not have an apology to its viewers or to Dominion," said anchor Jake Tapper. "It did have this one line. Quote, 'We acknowledge the court's rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false.' So translated, that means Fox acknowledges that they aired and pushed lies about Dominion. Is that what that means?"
"Translated, it means we got caught lying by the judge," said Honig. "And I think that's exactly why we are seeing this absolutely jaw-dropping number. I mean, let's be clear. This is an unequivocal rebuke of Fox News of their reporting of their quote-unquote 'journalism.'"
The specific amount Fox agreed to pay, Honig continued, is astonishing, with little if any precedent to his knowledge.
"I don't know, I'm not exactly a historian, but I don't believe I've ever seen a jury verdict or a settlement on the amount of $787 million," said Honig. "Yes, this is half of what Dominion was asking. But as you and I have discussed on air, I didn't think there was any way they would get $1.6 billion even when they proved their case, even if they proved it overwhelmingly to a jury, let's remember. By its own estimation, Dominion values the entire company at somewhere between $30 and $80 million. This settlement is 10 times the value of Dominion as an entire company. That's how strong a statement this is with this number. And I guess that answers the question."
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