The court case between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems is preparing to take a nasty turn as some of the network’s top stars prepare to potentially take the witness stand.
According to new court documents obtained by The Hill, hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham as well as Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott are among the individuals on a proposed list of fact witnesses that might be called to testify during the trial.
Dominion is suing Fox News for defamation, alleging the network knowingly aired false claims about its software being promoted by former President Donald Trump and his allies following the 2020 election. (RELATED: Private Tucker Carlson Messages Reveal ‘Passionate’ Hate for Donald Trump)
Fox News has defended itself against the Dominion suit by arguing it was simply reporting on newsworthy allegations from the president of the United States and his surrogates.
“Dominion’s lawsuit has always been more about what will generate headlines than what can withstand legal and factual scrutiny, as illustrated by them now being forced to slash their fanciful damages demand by more than half a billion dollars after their own expert debunked its implausible claims,” the network said in its most recent statement about the case.
“Their summary judgment motion took an extreme, unsupported view of defamation law that would prevent journalists from basic reporting and their efforts to publicly smear Fox for covering and commenting on allegations by a sitting President of the United States should be recognized for what it is: a blatant violation of the First Amendment.”
The two parties in court filings both expressed a desire to call many of Fox’s top stars to the witness stand, including Carlson, Hannity, Lou Dobbs, Bret Baier, Maria Bartiromo, and Jeanine Pirro. Many of the allegedly defamatory statements were made on their shows.
Fox listed 35 proposed witnesses while Dominion cast a wider net and sought testimony from Fox executives, members of the Murdoch family, former Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), who is a member of the Fox Corp. board, along with several media and marketing experts.
“Dominion’s needlessly expansive live witness list is yet another attempt to generate headlines and distract from the many shortcomings of its case,” a spokesperson for the network told The Hill on Tuesday. “Ultimately, this case is about the First Amendment protections of the media’s absolute right to cover the news.”
The trial is scheduled to begin on April 17.
READ NEXT: Tucker Carlson Attempts To Clarify Private Texts Targeting Trump
Testify? To what?? What can they present that has any bearing on the facts? EVERYTHING they said was opinion.