Fox News has announced a settlement with Venezuelan businessman Majeed Khalil, ending a defamation lawsuit in which Khalil claimed he was falsely accused on air of helping to rig the 2020 US presidential election against Donald Trump.
Dominion Voting Systems Corp. is suing Fox News and its parent company Fox Corp. for $1.6 billion in defamation, with jury selection set to begin Thursday ahead of a separate trial over their coverage of election fraud claims.
Khalil filed a separate defamation suit against the news agency and former anchor Lou Dobbs, arguing they made fabricated claims that he and other Venezuelans were involved in “planning to rig or rig the election.”
A short letter sent to U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton in Manhattan on Saturday said the parties had reached a “confidential agreement to resolve this matter” and were expected to file a joint stipulation of dismissal next week.
“This matter has been amicably resolved by both parties,” Fox News said in a statement Sunday. “We have no further comment.”
Lawyers for Fox News and Dobbs referred to the Reuters report. Khalil’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump has continued to repeat his debunked claims of widespread voter fraud, which led to his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 election, even after they have been roundly dismissed by the courts, state governments and members of his own former administration.
With Reuters
