Fox Corporation’s chief legal officer, Viet Dinh, will leave at the end of the year, in a shakeup for the company following the historic $787.5 million settlement it paid to Dominion Voting Systems in April.
Fox said in a statement on Friday that Dinh, a former White House official under George W. Bush who gained significant power within Fox, would advise the company after his exit.
Mr. Dinh gave what some inside the company considered flawed advice during the Dominion lawsuit, which exposed a pattern of deceptive coverage by Fox News after the 2020 presidential election. He insisted that Fox was on a firm legal footing and could bring the case, if necessary, along. way to the Supreme Court, where he believes the company will prevail on First Amendment grounds.
Fox did not name his successor.
“We appreciate Veet’s many contributions and services to Fox as a member of the 21st Century Fox Board of Directors and in his role over the past five years as a valued member of the Fox leadership team,” CEO Lachlan Murdoch said in a written statement. Announcing the move.
Mr. Dinh’s departure raises questions about how Fox will handle the major lawsuits it still faces over airing false allegations about election fraud on a large scale after the 2020 election. Another election technology company, Smartmatic, sued Fox for $2.7 billion. Ray Epps, the man at the center of a widespread conspiracy theory about the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox last month.
The company also faces two shareholder lawsuits related to its coverage and handling of lawsuits.
The Dominion lawsuit destabilized Fox and the family that controlled it, the Murdoch family. The fallout is the most significant challenge the company has faced since allegations more than a decade ago that journalists working for its British newspapers division were hacking into celebrity voicemail accounts.
Emails and text messages released as part of the discovery process in the Dominion case revealed that Fox executives including Rupert Murdoch, the company’s founder, and hosts of its news network were deeply skeptical of former President Donald J. Trump’s claims that voter fraud was responsible for his loss in the election. The election. However, Fox News has continued to provide a platform for many on-air personalities and guests who have made such claims.
In April, the network canceled its most-watched prime-time host, Tucker Carlson, whose private messages showed him to be much more critical of Mr. Trump than he was on his show. One of the scripts, which contained racist sentiments, prompted the Fox board of directors to authorize an internal investigation that contributed to Carlson’s ouster.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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