Rupert Murdoch's son Lachlan ordered Fox News host to rein in 'smug and obnoxious' anti-Trump comments about the 2020 election, court docs show
- Lachlan Murdoch said a Fox News host's comments were "smug and obnoxious", according to court docs
- Leland Vittert came under fire for challenging Trump's election fraud claims, the lawsuit said.
Lachlan Murdoch, the eldest son of Fox News' billionaire owner, Rupert Murdoch, ordered a network anchor to be reprimanded for challenging Donald Trump's bogus voting fraud claims, court documents show.
Fox CEO Lachlan said journalist Leland Vittert's "anti-Trump" views were "[s]mug and obnoxious", according to a legal filing made as part of a $1.6 billion lawsuit by Dominion against Fox News.
Dominion has accused Fox News of pushing baseless claims that voting machines were used in a plot to rig the 2020 election results. The company released a slew of private communications by the network's owner, Rupert Murdoch, and his top lieutenants, including his son, Lachlan.
According to the documents, Lachlan took a close interest in the network's coverage of a November 14 2020, Washington, DC, rally by Trump supporters who were protesting against what they claimed was a stolen election.
"He told [Fox News executive Susan Scott] on November 14 during Fox's coverage of a rally in support of Donald Trump that 'News guys have to be careful how they cover this rally. So far some of the side comments are slightly anti, and they shouldn't be. The narrative should be this is a huge celebration of the 25 president," it added.
"Scott responded: 'Yes thanks'; and when Lachlan then criticized Leland Vittert's coverage as '[s]mug and obnoxious,' Scott said she was 'calling now' to direct Vittert's producer to fix the issue," it said.
Vittert, who has worked as a correspondent in the Middle East and in Ukraine, got into a heated exchange with a Trump aide during Fox News' November 14 coverage of the rally after challenging her election fraud claims.
The anchor left Fox News in April 2021, and now presents a show on NewsNation. Insider has contacted Leland for comment.
The documents reveal the role the Murdochs had in shaping Fox News' coverage of the 2020 election, as well as their uncertainty about how to handle claims of mass fraud made by Trump and his allies, which they believed to be false.
They show the extent to which the Murdochs were concerned about how aggravating Trump or his supporters could dent their ratings and revenues.
Fox News has disputed the Dominion lawsuit, saying that its right to discuss Trump's election fraud claims are protected under the First Amendment.
"Dominion's lawsuit has always been more about what will generate headlines than what can withstand legal and factual scrutiny," it said in a statement.
"Their summary judgment motion took an extreme, unsupported view of defamation law that would prevent journalists from basic reporting and their efforts to publicly smear Fox for covering and commenting on allegations by a sitting President of the United States should be recognized for what it is: a blatant violation of the First Amendment."