Rupert Murdoch is scheduled to be deposed on Tuesday as part of the $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit filed against Fox Corp. by the voting technology company Smartmatic.
Murdoch is expected to be questioned in Los Angeles on Tuesday and Wednesday, the source added.
This will be the second time this year that Murdoch, 92, is deposed in a significant defamation case accusing Fox News of broadcasting false information about the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
In January, during a similar defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems, Murdoch acknowledged that some Fox News hosts and personalities “endorsed” the erroneous claim that the election was stolen from then-President Donald Trump.
Fox settled Dominion’s lawsuit for $787.5 million, which is nearly half of the $1.6 billion initially sought by the voting company.
Smartmatic’s lawsuit alleges that Fox and several of its hosts and guests knowingly spread falsehoods or acted with reckless disregard for the truth by promoting or endorsing the unfounded claim that Smartmatic rigged the election in favor of President Joe Biden over Trump.
Smartmatic, which has filed its lawsuit in New York Supreme Court, is seeking damages exceeding $2.7 billion for the harm it claims was caused by the defendants’ “disinformation campaign.”
Murdoch is not a defendant in the Smartmatic lawsuit, which targets Fox personalities Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro, former opinion host Lou Dobbs, as well as Trump’s former attorney Rudy Giuliani and pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell.
In February, a New York appeals court rejected Fox’s attempt to dismiss the defamation suit.
Earlier this month, Murdoch officially stepped down as chairman of Fox and News Corp., with his son Lachlan taking over leadership of both companies. Murdoch is now serving as chairman emeritus of the firms.
