When my co-editor Marianna Brady and I came into work today, we were both expecting to be covering this trial for the full six weeks
it was scheduled for.
It’s not turned out that way at all. This morning, the jury
in Delaware was selected and then the court broke for lunch. But then… nothing.
Although negotiations for a settlement were going on behind
the scenes, our reporter in court – Bernd Debusmann Jr – had no idea this is how the day would end as details
were kept very under wraps.
What we now know is that Fox News settled its defamation
case brought by voting machine company Dominion for $787.5m (£633.6m) just hours
after the trial began.
Fox and Dominion both say they are pleased a settlement has been reached. But who truly has come out on top in the case will be up for experts to decide.
Thank you for joining us today. Marianna and I edited the page
with Sam Hancock. Bernd Debusmann Jr and Michelle Fleury were in court for us
and Ece Goksedef, Nadine Yousif, Max Matza and Malu Cursino did the reporting.
A strategic move by Fox
Michelle Fleury
Business correspondent, reporting from court
For Rupert Murdoch, the decision not to go to trial makes strategic sense.
If the lawsuit had gone ahead, Fox News might have had to choose between standing by false statements it aired about the 2020 US election or coming out and saying the outcome was fair.
The former increased the risk of further legal woes, the latter might have alienated its viewers, which would have been damaging to its business.
One thing is certain, today’s outcome saves Fox News from airing its dirty linen and Murdoch from having to take the stand.
Who's the real winner?
Max Matza
Live reporter
Fox News may be paying a steep penalty for its 2020 US
presidential election coverage, but the company will still be happy to have
avoided an embarrassing legal trial.
Part of the settlement required the news broadcaster to admit to
lying in its coverage, but there are several upsides to this for Fox as well.
Owner Rupert Murdoch was among those expected to testify, as
well as several top news anchors for the station, like Tucker Carlson.
Text messages revealed during the discovery process of the case
show that both of them, as well as other Fox employees, did not believe Trump's
claim that the election was stolen.
Fox workers privately fretted about losing Trump-supporting
viewers to more conservative networks if they did not publicly back his false
claims.
This way, Fox only has to pay about half of what Dominion was
asking, and the network's top presenters won't have to publicly dispute Trump
in court.
A good outcome for Fox News?
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Wilmington
We're still here near the court, where an expected six-weeks of
trial came to a grinding halt after 48 hours.
I've just been exchanging messages with legal experts about the
case - and they tell me that they believe that even though Fox has to pay, it's
still perhaps the best possible outcome for them.
Civil litigation attorney Michelle Simpson Tuegel, for example,
told me that the settlement "speaks to the massive threat Fox saw from
this litigation.
"It's hard to say how damaging a decision against Fox would
have been for the company beyond the financial cost of the verdict, because
their audience is very loyal," Tuegel said.
"But the reputational harm of having executives, including
chairman Rupert Murdoch, and hosts take the stand seems to have moved the
parties towards a resolution," she added.
My short stint in Delaware is coming to a close.
Dominion lawyers hint at more legal action
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
Lawyers for Dominion said in the press conference that more
legal action is coming against people that spread lies about the company.
"There are more people that have some accountability
coming," said one lawyer, with another telling reporters: "Thank you
and we'll see you at the next one".
Dominion Voting Systems still has lawsuits against Newsmax and
the One America News Network.
They have also sued Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and Mike
Lindell – all allies of Donald Trump who shared false claims about Dominion
following Joe Biden's presidential win.
They all deny wrongdoing and plan to fight the lawsuits.
Fox News counterprograms as Dominion lawyers speak
Kayla Epstein
Senior reporter
Here in the BBC New York bureau, we have a wall of four monitors tuned into major news networks.
Just after news of a settlement broke, BBC, CNBC, and CNN all carried the Dominion lawyers' press conference live.
The fourth TV in our office, dedicated to Fox News, did not.
Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto was in the anchor's seat, and it took several moments for him to acknowledge the settlement. The network then brought its media correspondent, Howard Kurtz, on as a guest to speak with Cavuto for about three minutes.
Kurtz hosts a Fox show called Media Buzz, and revealed in February that the network had barred him from talking about the trial; he said at the time he “strongly disagrees” with that decision.
Fox News did not show images of the scene outside the Delaware courthouse; instead, footage of its New York headquarters dominated a split screen.
As Dominion lawyers declared victory in their case on the other three televisions, Fox News cut to a commercial. They returned a few minutes later, with a segment on immigration.
They have also not published a story about the settlement on the front page of their website, yet.
WATCH: 'Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion'
Video content
Video caption: Dominion vs Fox News: 'Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion'Dominion vs Fox News: 'Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion'
Shortly after the settlement was announced representatives of Dominion spoke to media waiting outside the court.
Dominion CEO John Poulos said Fox News "now understands the consequence of spreading lies".
What happened with Dominion Voting Systems?
Sam Hancock
Live reporter
Let’s, for a minute, pretend we're back in 2020. It's 7 November and after years of campaigning, Joe Biden has won the US presidency. But there's a hiccup - the current president, Donald Trump, is refusing to accept the result of the election.
In the days that follow, Trump claims the election was "fake", "stolen" and that votes were deleted. This is where Dominion Voting Systems comes into the picture, and how we found ourselves covering this trial that did not come to pass.
In a tweet on 12 November 2020, Trump claimed Dominion’s electronic voting system - widely used by election authorities across the US - had "deleted 2.7 million Trump votes nationwide".
BBCCopyright: BBC
He was referring to a news item on the pro-Trump, conservative news
outlet One American News Network (OANN) which reported, at the time, that
"elections systems across the country are found to have deleted millions
of votes cast for President Trump". No evidence was ever found to support
this, and Dominion denied the claim.
Fox News hosts amplified this claim, which is how they got in hot water.
Dominion sued Fox News for defamation for a total of $1.6bn (£1.29bn) in damages.
While they have settled for half that amount, it's still a win for the voting system company whose reputation was irreparably damaged following the 2020 election.
This explainer by our
Reality Check colleagues was written back in 2020, and gives a really clear
sense of Trump’s claims about Dominion and how they were either false or
misleading.
Dominion praises 'historic settlement'
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Dominion CEO John Poulos just spoke at the press conference, and
used it as a chance to share statements on election integrity.
The "historic settlement" he says, includes Fox
"admitting to telling lies, causing enormous damage to my company".
“Fox now understands the consequence of spreading lies", he
says.
During the lead up to the trial the judge ruled that Fox had
spread falsehoods about Dominion, and that fact would not be argued in court.
BreakingSettlement of $787.5m
Dominion lawyers have just announced Fox and Dominion have reached a settlement of $787.5m (£633.6m), just under half of the $1.6bn they were asking for.
"The truth matters, lies have consequences," a lawyer for Dominion says.
BBCCopyright: BBC
Fox releases statement on settlement
"We are pleased to have reached a settlement of our dispute with Dominion Voting Systems. We acknowledge the Court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false. This settlement reflects FOX’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards.
We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues."
Surprise for some, relief for others
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from court
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
Here in court, there was an audible gasp when the judge said
that the case had been "resolved" – a lot of people here fully
expected the case to go to a lengthy trial.
In the overflow room where the reporters were, it was hard to
hear anything over the hard clacking of laptop keyboards as breaking news stories
were filed. Many quickly ran out of the room, no doubt headed to waiting camera
crews outside.
Judge Davis, for his part, thanked the jurors for their service
and told them they didn't have to come back.
One spectator in the hallway was heard saying "thank
goodness we don't have to be here for six weeks."
The details of the settlement remain unclear, but we'll surely
be hearing more about it in the coming hours and days.
Settlement details still unclear
We still don't know any of the details of the last ditch
settlement deal that has just been agreed.
But to remind you Dominion's lawsuit had been seeking $1.6bn
from Fox.
The settlement means a high-profile trial will now be avoided.
Stay with us as we bring you the latest from the Delaware
courthouse.
Last comments in the room
Dominion says they wish to express their deepest appreciation to the court, the judge, and the court staff.
"This is the best lawyering I've had ever," says the judge to the lawyers, since he was on the bench in 2010.
Now we await news on what Fox and Dominion agreed. Remember, Dominion was suing Fox for $1.6bn.
Judge dismisses the court
"You are free to go", judge tells the courtroom.
BreakingFox and Dominion appear to settle
The judge said that the "parties have resolved their case", implying that Fox News and Dominion have appeared to reach a settlement.
Judge has returned
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from court
The judge in the case, Eric Davis, has returned to the
courtroom.
It's now almost 16:00 here, and opening arguments were slated for
around 1330pm.
We don't know what he plans to say, but we'll, at the very
least, be getting more clarity on what caused the delay. It's been an extremely
unusual day here in court.
Stay with us for more updates.
Fox was rife with internal divisions, court filings suggest
Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Dominion Voting Systems has called dozens of Fox executives and journalists to testify in depositions, and subpoenaed thousands of pages of their text messages and emails to make its case against Fox.
The communications show the often heated, and sometimes profane, conversations that took place behind closed doors as Fox News - from chairman Rupert Murdoch down - grappled with Donald Trump's ultimately futile attempt to overturn the 2020 election results.
The Dominion court filings suggest that Fox News was rife with internal divisions.
Traditional news journalists were set against the network's opinion-show presenters and vice versa, with evening host Sean Hannity telling morning host Steve Doocy that "news" was destroying them.
"They don't care," Doocy replied."They are JOURNALISTS."
In a group chat with Hannity and fellow evening host Laura Ingraham, Tucker Carlson wrote: "We are all officially working for an organisation that hates us."
On the news side of Fox, the feeling was mutual.
"In my 22 years affiliated with Fox, this is the closest thing I've seen to an existential crisis - at least journalistically," Bill Sammon, the network's managing editor at the time, wrote in an email.
As we've been waiting, court documents show that Judge Davis has
assigned an outside attorney named John Elzufon, to serve as a "special
master" that will look into Fox's submission of documents and
communications needed during the "discovery" phase of the trial.
Judge Davis had spoken about this issue before, so it's unlikely
to be related to the current delay.
As a reminder, the court closes today at 430 local time – not far
away now. Opening arguments have been delayed now for nearly two hours, and
we're unsure why.
A case that could shape coverage of 2024 election
Michelle Fleury
Business correspondent, reporting from court
This case is seen as a test of press freedoms and accountability for spreading disinformation, one that could help shape political coverage of the 2024 US election.
Lawyers for Dominion are due to deliver their opening arguments today in one of the most high profile media defamation cases in decades. Without a settlement, high profile figures including the media mogul Rupert Murdoch and Fox News stars such as Tucker Carlson could be forced to testify.
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
Anti-Fox News protesters have made their views clear outside the courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware, todayImage caption: Anti-Fox News protesters have made their views clear outside the courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware, today
The jury, sworn in today, must decide whether the network acted with "actual malice" - the legal bar - when it aired false claims that Dominion’s voting terminals helped rig the 2020 US election for Joe Biden against then-president Donald Trump. Judge Eric Davis has already ruled that Fox News’ statements about Dominion were false.
Given that, lawyers for Fox are likely to argue that the network was simply reporting claims - originally made by Trump and his associates - that were newsworthy and that its broadcasts are protected by the First Amendment, which guarantees the right to publish information without censorship.
Dominion will try to show that top level Fox executives knowingly broadcast the false claims to boost ratings.
Live Reporting
Edited by Marianna Brady and Jamie Whitehead
All times stated are UK
ReutersCopyright: Reuters 
Video caption: Dominion vs Fox News: 'Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion'Dominion vs Fox News: 'Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion' 
BBCCopyright: BBC 
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images 
BBCCopyright: BBC 
ReutersCopyright: Reuters 
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images 
ReutersCopyright: Reuters Anti-Fox News protesters have made their views clear outside the courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware, todayImage caption: Anti-Fox News protesters have made their views clear outside the courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware, today
Latest PostAn unexpected end to an unexpected day
Jamie Whitehead
Live reporter
When my co-editor Marianna Brady and I came into work today, we were both expecting to be covering this trial for the full six weeks it was scheduled for.
It’s not turned out that way at all. This morning, the jury in Delaware was selected and then the court broke for lunch. But then… nothing.
Although negotiations for a settlement were going on behind the scenes, our reporter in court – Bernd Debusmann Jr – had no idea this is how the day would end as details were kept very under wraps.
What we now know is that Fox News settled its defamation case brought by voting machine company Dominion for $787.5m (£633.6m) just hours after the trial began.
Fox and Dominion both say they are pleased a settlement has been reached. But who truly has come out on top in the case will be up for experts to decide.
Thank you for joining us today. Marianna and I edited the page with Sam Hancock. Bernd Debusmann Jr and Michelle Fleury were in court for us and Ece Goksedef, Nadine Yousif, Max Matza and Malu Cursino did the reporting.
A strategic move by Fox
Michelle Fleury
Business correspondent, reporting from court
For Rupert Murdoch, the decision not to go to trial makes strategic sense.
If the lawsuit had gone ahead, Fox News might have had to choose between standing by false statements it aired about the 2020 US election or coming out and saying the outcome was fair.
The former increased the risk of further legal woes, the latter might have alienated its viewers, which would have been damaging to its business.
One thing is certain, today’s outcome saves Fox News from airing its dirty linen and Murdoch from having to take the stand.
Who's the real winner?
Max Matza
Live reporter
Fox News may be paying a steep penalty for its 2020 US presidential election coverage, but the company will still be happy to have avoided an embarrassing legal trial.
Part of the settlement required the news broadcaster to admit to lying in its coverage, but there are several upsides to this for Fox as well.
Owner Rupert Murdoch was among those expected to testify, as well as several top news anchors for the station, like Tucker Carlson.
Text messages revealed during the discovery process of the case show that both of them, as well as other Fox employees, did not believe Trump's claim that the election was stolen.
Fox workers privately fretted about losing Trump-supporting viewers to more conservative networks if they did not publicly back his false claims.
This way, Fox only has to pay about half of what Dominion was asking, and the network's top presenters won't have to publicly dispute Trump in court.
A good outcome for Fox News?
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Wilmington
We're still here near the court, where an expected six-weeks of trial came to a grinding halt after 48 hours.
I've just been exchanging messages with legal experts about the case - and they tell me that they believe that even though Fox has to pay, it's still perhaps the best possible outcome for them.
Civil litigation attorney Michelle Simpson Tuegel, for example, told me that the settlement "speaks to the massive threat Fox saw from this litigation.
"It's hard to say how damaging a decision against Fox would have been for the company beyond the financial cost of the verdict, because their audience is very loyal," Tuegel said.
"But the reputational harm of having executives, including chairman Rupert Murdoch, and hosts take the stand seems to have moved the parties towards a resolution," she added.
My short stint in Delaware is coming to a close.
Dominion lawyers hint at more legal action
Lawyers for Dominion said in the press conference that more legal action is coming against people that spread lies about the company.
"There are more people that have some accountability coming," said one lawyer, with another telling reporters: "Thank you and we'll see you at the next one".
Dominion Voting Systems still has lawsuits against Newsmax and the One America News Network.
They have also sued Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and Mike Lindell – all allies of Donald Trump who shared false claims about Dominion following Joe Biden's presidential win.
They all deny wrongdoing and plan to fight the lawsuits.
Fox News counterprograms as Dominion lawyers speak
Kayla Epstein
Senior reporter
Here in the BBC New York bureau, we have a wall of four monitors tuned into major news networks.
Just after news of a settlement broke, BBC, CNBC, and CNN all carried the Dominion lawyers' press conference live.
The fourth TV in our office, dedicated to Fox News, did not.
Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto was in the anchor's seat, and it took several moments for him to acknowledge the settlement. The network then brought its media correspondent, Howard Kurtz, on as a guest to speak with Cavuto for about three minutes.
Kurtz hosts a Fox show called Media Buzz, and revealed in February that the network had barred him from talking about the trial; he said at the time he “strongly disagrees” with that decision.
Fox News did not show images of the scene outside the Delaware courthouse; instead, footage of its New York headquarters dominated a split screen.
As Dominion lawyers declared victory in their case on the other three televisions, Fox News cut to a commercial. They returned a few minutes later, with a segment on immigration.
They have also not published a story about the settlement on the front page of their website, yet.
WATCH: 'Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion'
Video content
Shortly after the settlement was announced representatives of Dominion spoke to media waiting outside the court.
Dominion CEO John Poulos said Fox News "now understands the consequence of spreading lies".
What happened with Dominion Voting Systems?
Sam Hancock
Live reporter
Let’s, for a minute, pretend we're back in 2020. It's 7 November and after years of campaigning, Joe Biden has won the US presidency. But there's a hiccup - the current president, Donald Trump, is refusing to accept the result of the election.
In the days that follow, Trump claims the election was "fake", "stolen" and that votes were deleted. This is where Dominion Voting Systems comes into the picture, and how we found ourselves covering this trial that did not come to pass.
In a tweet on 12 November 2020, Trump claimed Dominion’s electronic voting system - widely used by election authorities across the US - had "deleted 2.7 million Trump votes nationwide".
He was referring to a news item on the pro-Trump, conservative news outlet One American News Network (OANN) which reported, at the time, that "elections systems across the country are found to have deleted millions of votes cast for President Trump". No evidence was ever found to support this, and Dominion denied the claim.
Fox News hosts amplified this claim, which is how they got in hot water.
Dominion sued Fox News for defamation for a total of $1.6bn (£1.29bn) in damages.
While they have settled for half that amount, it's still a win for the voting system company whose reputation was irreparably damaged following the 2020 election.
This explainer by our Reality Check colleagues was written back in 2020, and gives a really clear sense of Trump’s claims about Dominion and how they were either false or misleading.
Dominion praises 'historic settlement'
Dominion CEO John Poulos just spoke at the press conference, and used it as a chance to share statements on election integrity.
The "historic settlement" he says, includes Fox "admitting to telling lies, causing enormous damage to my company".
“Fox now understands the consequence of spreading lies", he says.
During the lead up to the trial the judge ruled that Fox had spread falsehoods about Dominion, and that fact would not be argued in court.
BreakingSettlement of $787.5m
Dominion lawyers have just announced Fox and Dominion have reached a settlement of $787.5m (£633.6m), just under half of the $1.6bn they were asking for.
"The truth matters, lies have consequences," a lawyer for Dominion says.
Fox releases statement on settlement
"We are pleased to have reached a settlement of our dispute with Dominion Voting Systems. We acknowledge the Court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false. This settlement reflects FOX’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards.
We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues."
Surprise for some, relief for others
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from court
Here in court, there was an audible gasp when the judge said that the case had been "resolved" – a lot of people here fully expected the case to go to a lengthy trial.
In the overflow room where the reporters were, it was hard to hear anything over the hard clacking of laptop keyboards as breaking news stories were filed. Many quickly ran out of the room, no doubt headed to waiting camera crews outside.
Judge Davis, for his part, thanked the jurors for their service and told them they didn't have to come back.
One spectator in the hallway was heard saying "thank goodness we don't have to be here for six weeks."
The details of the settlement remain unclear, but we'll surely be hearing more about it in the coming hours and days.
Settlement details still unclear
We still don't know any of the details of the last ditch settlement deal that has just been agreed.
But to remind you Dominion's lawsuit had been seeking $1.6bn from Fox.
The settlement means a high-profile trial will now be avoided.
Stay with us as we bring you the latest from the Delaware courthouse.
Last comments in the room
Dominion says they wish to express their deepest appreciation to the court, the judge, and the court staff.
"This is the best lawyering I've had ever," says the judge to the lawyers, since he was on the bench in 2010.
Now we await news on what Fox and Dominion agreed. Remember, Dominion was suing Fox for $1.6bn.
Judge dismisses the court
"You are free to go", judge tells the courtroom.
BreakingFox and Dominion appear to settle
The judge said that the "parties have resolved their case", implying that Fox News and Dominion have appeared to reach a settlement.
Judge has returned
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from court
The judge in the case, Eric Davis, has returned to the courtroom.
It's now almost 16:00 here, and opening arguments were slated for around 1330pm.
We don't know what he plans to say, but we'll, at the very least, be getting more clarity on what caused the delay. It's been an extremely unusual day here in court.
Stay with us for more updates.
Fox was rife with internal divisions, court filings suggest
Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent
Dominion Voting Systems has called dozens of Fox executives and journalists to testify in depositions, and subpoenaed thousands of pages of their text messages and emails to make its case against Fox.
The communications show the often heated, and sometimes profane, conversations that took place behind closed doors as Fox News - from chairman Rupert Murdoch down - grappled with Donald Trump's ultimately futile attempt to overturn the 2020 election results.
The Dominion court filings suggest that Fox News was rife with internal divisions.
Traditional news journalists were set against the network's opinion-show presenters and vice versa, with evening host Sean Hannity telling morning host Steve Doocy that "news" was destroying them.
"They don't care," Doocy replied."They are JOURNALISTS."
In a group chat with Hannity and fellow evening host Laura Ingraham, Tucker Carlson wrote: "We are all officially working for an organisation that hates us."
On the news side of Fox, the feeling was mutual.
"In my 22 years affiliated with Fox, this is the closest thing I've seen to an existential crisis - at least journalistically," Bill Sammon, the network's managing editor at the time, wrote in an email.
Read more here.
'Special Master' appointed by court
As we've been waiting, court documents show that Judge Davis has assigned an outside attorney named John Elzufon, to serve as a "special master" that will look into Fox's submission of documents and communications needed during the "discovery" phase of the trial.
Judge Davis had spoken about this issue before, so it's unlikely to be related to the current delay.
As a reminder, the court closes today at 430 local time – not far away now. Opening arguments have been delayed now for nearly two hours, and we're unsure why.
A case that could shape coverage of 2024 election
Michelle Fleury
Business correspondent, reporting from court
This case is seen as a test of press freedoms and accountability for spreading disinformation, one that could help shape political coverage of the 2024 US election.
Lawyers for Dominion are due to deliver their opening arguments today in one of the most high profile media defamation cases in decades. Without a settlement, high profile figures including the media mogul Rupert Murdoch and Fox News stars such as Tucker Carlson could be forced to testify.
The jury, sworn in today, must decide whether the network acted with "actual malice" - the legal bar - when it aired false claims that Dominion’s voting terminals helped rig the 2020 US election for Joe Biden against then-president Donald Trump. Judge Eric Davis has already ruled that Fox News’ statements about Dominion were false.
Given that, lawyers for Fox are likely to argue that the network was simply reporting claims - originally made by Trump and his associates - that were newsworthy and that its broadcasts are protected by the First Amendment, which guarantees the right to publish information without censorship.
Dominion will try to show that top level Fox executives knowingly broadcast the false claims to boost ratings.