People walk by the News Corporation headquarters, home to Fox News, on April 18, 2023 in Latest York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
Fox Corp. Chief Legal and Policy Officer Viet Dinh will step down from his post, months after the corporate agreed to pay a $787.5 million settlement to Dominion Voting Systems.
The departure comes after Dinh advised the corporate through the lawsuit with the voting machines company, which was halted just wanting a trial with the April settlement. The corporate has continued to feel the fallout since.
Dominion hit Fox with a defamation lawsuit arguing its networks “intentionally and falsely” blamed the corporate for the 2020 election lack of former President Donald Trump to President Joe Biden by airing unsubstantiated claims that Dominion’s machines rigged the election.
While Fox agreed to the settlement, its hosts weren’t required to speak in regards to the lawsuit or make any public apology for on-air statements.
Days after the settlement was reached, Fox ousted primetime host Tucker Carlson, who has since began his own show on X, the web site formerly generally known as Twitter. Since then, Jesse Watters has develop into the alternative for a similar primetime slot Carlson once held.
Carlson and Dinh were among the many Fox anchors and executives who were questioned as a part of the lawsuit. Depositions, emails, texts and other correspondence were a part of the reams of evidence released before the settlement.
Leading as much as the trial, Dominion had been urging the court to compel Fox’s top brass, including Dinh, to seem for in-person testimony. The judge presiding over the case said within the weeks before the trial’s start date that he could compel executives to testify.
Dinh joined the corporate in the highest legal role in 2018 and since then has led all of its legal, compliance and regulatory matters, along with overseeing government affairs.
He’ll step down effective Dec. 31 and develop into a special advisor to the corporate.
“We appreciate Viet’s many contributions and repair to FOX as each a board member of twenty first Century Fox and in his role during the last five years as a valued member of FOX’s leadership team,” said Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch in a news release. “We’re grateful that he’ll proceed to serve FOX as Special Advisor where we’ll profit from his counsel.”
