CNN legal analyst Elie Honig reacted to Tuesday’s stunning settlement between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems, which sued the network for $1.6 billion. The parties settled on $787.5 million.
In the wake of the 2020 presidential election, some Fox News hosts and guests made false claims about Dominion’s voting machines rigging the contest against then-President Donald Trump.
CNN’s Jake Tapper, who could not keep a straight face while reading Fox’s statement about the settlement and having the “highest journalistic standards,” asked Honig for his reaction.
“Elie, the Fox statement did not have an apology to its viewers or to Dominion,” he noted. “It did have this one line: ‘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?”
Honig agreed.
“Yeah,” he said, “Translated, it means, ‘We got caught lying by the judge.’ 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. 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.”
Honig noted he did not think Dominion would get anywhere near the amount it was seeking, as the company is valued at far less than the original $1.6 billion figure.
“Let’s remember,” he continued. “By its own estimation, Dominion valued 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.”
Watch above via CNN.
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