Fox News' Attempts to Keep Rupert Murdoch Off the Stand at the Dominion Trial

Fox News' lawyers were met with skepticism Tuesday when they filed a motion to excuse Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch from testifying in court as part of Dominion Voting Systems' defamation lawsuit against the company covering a $1.6 billion dollar amount.

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During a hearing in Delaware Superior Court, Judge Eric Davis said that Fox had written to him saying that Murdoch, 92, would not be able to appear in the courtroom to provide testimony because it would be an "inconvenience".

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The judge remarked that Murdoch is "hardly infirm," and that after receiving the letter he was informed that the media mogul had recently gotten engaged and was talking about plans to travel more in the future — an apparent allusion to an interview the recently divorced media mogul gave to the New York Post last week, where he announced his engagement to Ann Lesley Smith, 66. According to the story, the pair intended to divide their time between New York, Montana, the UK, California, and the United Kingdom.

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“It does not sound like someone who would not be able to go from New York to Wilmington,” the judge replied.

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Matthew Carter, a lawyer for Fox, told the judge that he had concerns about a "miscommunication" regarding Fox's objections to Murdoch's testimony and that further clarification would be necessary.

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“We are not making the argument that he is infirm or incapable of traveling,” Carter said. “We believe that based on his seven-hour deposition, we do not think it is necessary for him to travel” in order to testify live to the court.

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There was no ruling by the judge as to whether Murdoch would have to appear in person at the trial, which is scheduled to start on April 17 and is expected to last for about six weeks.

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The company claims it has suffered serious damages due to claims made by Fox News and Fox Corp., claiming that it has been seriously damaged by claims made by Fox hosts and guests to the effect that the voting machine manufacturer "rigged" the 2020 election.

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This statement was made in a deposition Murdoch took earlier this year, in which he claimed that the bogus claims being made by Donald Trump and his allies were "damaging" to the nation and had been "endorsed" by some Fox hosts.

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Fox noted in their court filings that Murdoch testified in court that he was abroad during much of the period covered by the lawsuit and that he never discussed Dominion with any of the network's hosts. Dominion is contending that Murdoch was in a position to rein in the hosts.

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“Dominion’s needlessly expansive live witness list is another attempt by them to generate headlines and distract from the fact that the case has many shortcomings,” Fox said in a statement released Tuesday. In the end, the case is about protecting the right of the media to cover the news under the First Amendment.

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A court filing on Tuesday made public a list of proposed witnesses that will testify in court.

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The Dominion is also interested in questioning Murdoch's son Lachlan, who is Fox's CEO, as well as a number of Fox hosts and personalities, including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Lou Dobbs, Jeanine Pirro, and Maria Bartiromo, among others.

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Fox is proposing to use videotaped depositions of the Murdochs, Ingraham, and dozens of other witnesses as evidence in its trial, but many of those same names appear on the proposed witness list.