SUN VALLEY, ID - JULY 13: (L to R) Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of News Corp and chairman of Fox News, and Lachlan Murdoch, co-chairman of 21st Century Fox, walk together as they arrive on the third day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 13, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho. Every July, some of the world's most wealthy and powerful businesspeople from the media, finance, technology and political spheres converge at the Sun Valley Resort for the exclusive weeklong conference. (Photo: Getty)
A New York judge denied a request made by Fox News attorneys to subpoena billionaire George Soros as part of their ongoing legal battle with Smartmatic.
New York Supreme Court Justice David Cohen refused Fox’s motion on Monday to compel Soros to present documents and testimony in the case process of discovery.
Soros, a major backer of progressive causes, has long been a favorite target of the right.
Earlier this month, Fox tried to subpoena Mark Malloch-Brown, the president of the Soros-backed Open Society Foundation and chairman of Smartmantic’s holding company.
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“I base that on the finding that the crux of Smartmatic’s claims is that Fox has asserted they were part of rigging [the election], not that Smartmatic was affiliated with George Soros, Alex Soros, or the OSF,” Cohen stated in open court Monday. “That’s a peripheral matter — at best, it’s a possible rationale for defamation.”
Smartmatic filed a lawsuit against Fox in 2021 for $2.7 billion, claiming that the network deliberately gave former President Donald Trump lawyers Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani a platform to spread fabrications about the company.
The network issued a statement regarding the judge’s ruling:
“We are pleased that counsel for Soros and Smartmatic conceded during the hearing today that there are connections between Smartmatic and Soros, as confirmed by documents from Smartmatic and the public record,” the netwrok said.
Fox’s trial in the Smartmatics case is expected to begin in 2025.
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