Judge willing to force Rupert Murdoch to testify in $1.6bn Fox News case

The trial is due to start on 17 April. Testimony from the Murdochs promises to be dramatic. A series of explosive court filings have already exposed messages sent by the two Murdochs, other senior executives and leading Fox News hosts.

Dominion says the messages show Fox News broadcast conspiracy theories and lies about its work on US elections, pushed by Donald Trump and his allies in their attempt to overturn his 2020 defeat by Joe Biden, despite knowing such claims to be untrue.

Fox says it was presenting allegations made by public figures that reasonable viewers would not take for statements of fact.

It also claims that victory for Dominion would chill press and free-speech protections under the first amendment to the US constitution.

Dominion has previously said it wants to call Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old Fox Corporation chairman, and Lachlan Murdoch, his 51-year-old son and chief executive.

Such witnesses include the Fox News chief executive, Suzanne Scott; opinion hosts Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro, Maria Bartiromo and Lou Dobbs; and the news anchors Bret Baier and Dana Perino.

Citing recent provisions for Elon Musk in a trial concerning his pay as chief executive of Tesla, Judge Davis told lawyers he needed to know any security needs for witnesses coming to Delaware to testify.