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In a significant turn, Fox Corp. recently finalized a $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems Inc. following a complex legal dispute disclosed by Viet Dinh, the company’s Chief Legal and Policy Officer. The decision to settle came after several legal missteps, culminating in a Delaware judge’s rulings that left the media giant with little recourse, explained Dinh during a discussion at Harvard Law School.
Navigating Legal Troubles in the Face of Upcoming Elections
As the United States prepared for another election cycle and Fox Corp. braced for a protracted courtroom battle, practical business sense drove the decision to resolve Dominion’s defamation claims. Dinh emphasized that even though President Joe Biden secured victory in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Fox was obligated to its conservative audience. The network had to provide coverage of former President Donald Trump’s allegations, which suggested the possibility of a different electoral outcome.
“We are in the news business,” Dinh asserted. “You have the sitting president contesting the results of an election that he lost, hiring lawyers to go to court to challenge the election results, and asserting that at the end of the day he will have enough electors to overturn the election.”
An Amicable Departure Amid Controversy
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Viet Dinh, a close advisor to Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, is set to retire at the end of the year. Upon his departure, he will receive a substantial $23 million lump-sum payment and sign a two-year contract to pay him $2.5 million annually to continue advising Fox. The retirement and his parting with the company are amicable. Still, they were also influenced by the handling of the Dominion case and its outcome, as previously reported by Bloomberg News.
Disagreements Over Legal Strategy
Dinh’s dissatisfaction stemmed from a pivotal court ruling prohibiting Fox from invoking a “neutral reporting privilege” concerning the “newsworthiness” of a defamatory allegation. While Fox’s lead outside litigator, Dan Webb of Winston & Strawn was initially averse to settling with Dominion, the company’s lead appellate lawyer, former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement, expressed confidence that Fox could overturn any adverse judgment on appeal. Dinh disclosed that Clement was enthusiastic about “winning this case back for the company, the First Amendment, and American democracy.”
Media Diet Challenges and Editorial Choices
During a conversation at his alma mater, Dinh acknowledged the evolving media landscape and the complexities it presents to lawyers. He emphasized that much of the programming on Fox and its competitors incorporates opinion-based content or features guests expressing unsolicited views.
“We don’t like to think that lawyers make editorial and business decisions,” Dinh explained. “We like to let reporters and business people make the best judgment in consultation with legal counsel.”
Dinh further emphasized that Fox makes a deliberate “editorial choice” by selecting stories based on a “central right” perspective that caters to an underserved market.
Clarification on Tucker Carlson’s Departure
Dinh clarified that Tucker Carlson’s departure from Fox, about a week after the Dominion settlement, was unrelated to the legal settlement. Instead, it was a separate decision made by the network’s editorial executives. He also noted that Carlson is “being paid very handsomely by us” as part of his contract.
Promoting Civil Discourse
Viet Dinh, whose family emigrated from Vietnam to the U.S. after the fall of Saigon, emphasized that his personal beliefs do not necessarily align with every aspect of the 24/7 news cycle. He expressed a commitment to enhancing civil discourse in the country rather than degrading it.
“I sleep very well at night knowing that I’ve done my personal best to enhance the civil discourse in this country, rather than degrade it,” he stated. “Could we do better? Absolutely, 100%, and that’s part of the hard decisions that we make.”
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