CNN’s Jake Tapper had trouble swallowing Fox News’ statement about its commitment to “the highest journalistic standards” after the network reached a $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems.
Fox News admitted in a statement about the settlement — brokered on the same day the landmark defamation trial was scheduled to begin — that it had spread false claims about Dominion. But, as Tapper put it, the network then tried to put “a positive face on what can only be interpreted as one of the worst and most embarrassing moments in the history of journalism.”
“We are pleased to have reached a settlement of our dispute with Dominion Voting Systems,” a statement from the right-wing network said. “We acknowledge the Court’s decision that found certain claims about Dominion to be false. This settlement reflects FOX’s commitment to the highest journalistic standards. We hope that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion peacefully, rather than the acrimony of a split trial, allows the country to move forward from that problem.
Reading the statement to the audience, Tapper paused when he reached the sentence about journalistic standards.
“I’m sorry, that’s going to be hard to say with a straight face,” he said, stopping to laugh as he read the sentence.
A voting software company is seeking $1.6 billion in damages from Fox News and its parent company over its coverage of the 2020 election, saying the network inflated false claims that Dominion’s voting machine helped defeat former President Donald Trump.
Evidence that emerged during the lawsuit showed that Fox hosts and executives did not believe many of the statements they made to viewers in an apparent effort to detain them and discredit Trump.
The last-minute settlement means the cable network will avoid a high-profile, potentially embarrassing trial that would have seen testimony from executives and top talent. The trial had been scheduled to begin on Monday, but was canceled on Tuesday after an eleventh-hour effort was reported by Fox News on Sunday to settle the dispute out of court.