(Republicaninformer.com)- A new filing from the defamation suit that Dominion Votings Systems filed against Fox News shows that Tucker Carlson wanted to get a colleague fired for fact-checking then-President Donald Trump about the 2020 election, according to Mediaite.
In the $1.6 million suit, Dominion alleges that they were harmed when Fox News was covering the allegations of election fraud, and the machines were giving Trump votes to Biden. They also allege that negative coverage of their company was a way for the network to bring back viewers after they had called Arizona too early, according to NPR.
After Trump reportedly denounced the network for the early call, millions of viewers were no longer watching. Fox News reportedly keeps coverage of Trump somewhat positive because CEO Lachlan Murdoch knows that it is good for business, despite his personal distaste of Trump.
A new filing shows that Carlson went after reporter Jacqui Heinrich when she fact-checked a tweet by Trump, who had referred to segments by Sean Hannity and Lou Dobbs. She wrote that top election officials have stated that there was no fraudulent activity taking place, such as changing votes or deleting them.
In a group chat with Hannity and Laura Ingraham, Carlson posted the fact-check writing, “Please get her fired,” adding that Heinrich, who later removed the tweet, was hurting the image and stock price of Fox News. Carlson also wrote that he took the issue up with Meade Cooper, Fox’s executive vice president.
Since the suit, Cooper has testified that she did not believe what Fox was reporting about Dominion. Hannity also backtracked on previous statements while testifying under oath, reportedly saying that he did not believe the former president’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen for “one second.”
Fox News denies that the suit has any merit, reiterating the press’s First Amendment rights solidified in New York Times v. Sullivan.
