Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch gave Donald Trump’s son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner “confidential information” about Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign ads before they aired on the conservative network, according to a new court filing.
The leak provided Kushner with “a preview of the Biden ad before the public,” according to court documents released Monday as part of a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News.
“During the Trump campaign, Rupert provided Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, with Fox’s confidential information on Biden ads, along with debate strategy,” the filing read.
It’s not clear exactly how Murdoch helped “strategize the debate.”
Dominion is suing Fox News over baseless claims pushed by some of the network’s hosts that the company’s voting machines were used to tip the election in favor of Biden.
Elsewhere in the filing, Murdoch admitted the Fox News host “endorsed” conspiracy theories about Donald Trump winning the 2020 election.
Critics described the Murdoch-Kushner news as a “bombshell.”
“This action by Rupert Murdoch appears to be illegal,” said Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.). “At the very least, it would appear to be a campaign contribution of significant value, exceeding federal campaign limits.”
“Trump falsely accused Biden of being a ‘campaign spy,'” commented progressive PAC MeidasTouch. “Today, it was revealed that Trump and Fox News colluded to *actually* spy on the Biden campaign. Every accusation is a confession.”
Fox has repeatedly defended itself amid the lawsuit, admitting it’s “more about what will generate headlines than what can withstand legal and factual scrutiny.”