Fox Producer Sues Network, Claims Lawyers Coached Dominion Testimony
On Monday, Fox News producer Abby Grossberg filed two lawsuits against the network, claiming its lawyers pressured her into giving deceptive testimony in the $1.6B defamation suit filed by Dominion Voting Systems.
Facts
- On Monday, Fox News producer Abby Grossberg filed two lawsuits against the network, claiming its lawyers pressured her into giving deceptive testimony in the $1.6B defamation suit filed by Dominion Voting Systems.1
- Dominion Voting Systems is suing Fox News for its highly controversial claims surrounding the 2020 presidential election. Grossberg alleges that before her September 2022 deposition, she was coached in a "coercive and intimidating manner" to protect executives and on-air figures.2
- In her lawsuits, Grossberg also accused the company of sexism and alleged that part of the network's strategy against Dominion's suit was to push the blame onto Fox host Maria Bartiromo as well as herself.3
- Grossberg, who was also head of booking for Tucker Carlson, has warned that she will publicly disclose privileged attorney-client conversations she had with Fox News lawyers ahead of the deposition.4
- Fox had filed for a restraining order against Grossberg — who has been placed on leave — to prevent her from disclosing the exchanges, but dropped the pursuit on Tuesday.1
- A Fox News spokesperson revealed that the company has engaged an "independent outside counsel" to investigate Grossberg's concerns, while affirming it would defend against the claims.5
Sources: 1CNN, 2The Hill, 3 Fortune, 4Yahoo News, and 5 Axios.
Narratives
- Left narrative, as provided by NPR Online News. Fox News finds itself in real jeopardy concerning its defamation lawsuit defense. While media outlets rarely lose defamation cases, the amount of evidence against the network is exponentially growing. Not only did it knowingly promote false claims, but — as detailed in Grossberg's filings — the network also tried to cover its tracks by targeting its own employees.
- Right narrative, as provided by Free Republic. While Grossberg's allegations should undoubtedly be investigated, the defamation lawsuit against the network and the stories that have accompanied it — gleefully parroted by the media — are baseless. Freedom of the press is foundational to democracy, and to continue to push that Fox is guilty of anything but journalism is dangerous.
