CNN anchor Alisyn Camerota lamented Fox News’ legal settlement with Dominion Voting Systems just minutes before the defamation trial was set to begin Tuesday.
Attorneys representing both parties reached a $787.5 million settlement, less than half of Dominion’s $1.6 billion request after the trial judge swore in the jury. The case revolved around Dominion’s accusations that Fox News falsely claimed that the company may have replaced votes for former President Donald Trump for then-candidate Joe Biden during the 2020 presidential election.
Camerota, a former Fox News employee, said the network benefitted from this settlement.
“I predicted there would be a settlement all along, because Fox doesn’t want to air its dirty laundry in a court case. And forgive me, I don’t share quite — Ellie’s being impressed at the outcome. This is half of what Dominion asked for, let’s remember. Yes, it’s obviously it’s a big windfall for Dominion. It’s chump change for Fox. They make more than $1 billion a year, their news division. So this is, I think, this is a victory for Fox. They don’t have to put their big stars on the stand and they didn’t even have to issue a public apology,” she said.
Fox News released a statement acknowledging “certain claims about Dominion to be false” and said the dispute with the company was resolved “amicably.” (RELATED: NYT’s Mara Gay Says It’s ‘Sad’ Fox News Doesn’t Realize They’re Supposed To ‘Support Democracy’)
“We are pleased to have reached a settlement of our dispute with Dominion Voting Systems,” the network said in a statement. “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.”
Camerota claimed the network did not say they “lied.”
“When you guys say that they admitted they lied, no they didn’t,” she continued. “They’re saying that ‘we acknowledge the Court’s finding that certain claims about Dominion to be false.’ That doesn’t say ‘we lied,’ that says they’re false. And they’re saying ‘certain claims,’ they’re not even saying they made those claims, they’re not even saying which hosts of theirs made those claims. I think this is the best outcome that Fox could ever have hoped for once they got themselves into this mess,” she said.
Prominent hosts of the network, including Sean Hannity and Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson, may have been required to take the stand if the trial had proceeded.