Trump Tried To Call In To Fox News As The Capitol Riot Unfolded But The Network Refused To Put Him On Air, New Filing Claims

Donald Trump tried to call Fox News during the Capitol riots, court records show.
TV channel officials refused to promote it, as they considered it "irresponsible".
The claims were part of a defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems against the network.

Donald Trump tried to call Fox News on Jan. 6, 2021, as his supporters stormed the Capitol, but the network refused to air it, according to a new court filing.

Network executives felt that "it would be irresponsible to air it" and that it "could adversely affect many people," according to the memos, citing testimony from Fox Business Network President Lauren Patterson.

The revelation came in a 200-page filing Thursday in a defamation lawsuit against the Dominion Voting Systems Lawyers Network.

A special House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack was unaware that Trump called Lou Dobbs' Fox Business Network show, a source told CNN.

Dobbs' show, on which he often promoted conspiracy theories about voter fraud, was canceled weeks after the riots.

Lawyers for Dominion wrote in a statement, "On the afternoon of January 6, after the attack on the Capitol, then-President Trump called Lou Dobbs on the air to try to release. But Fox management vetoed the decision. Why? Not for lack of news value. January 6th is an important event in every respect. It was. President Trump was not only the current president, he was the main character of the day."

Lawyers say the network didn't air Trump because he was irresponsible and could negatively affect the public, but that hasn't stopped them from pushing a conspiracy theory that the voting technology company helped rig the 2020 presidential election. .

"Not only did the allegations seriously damage Dominion and its associates, but they were based on verifiable falsehoods that would have been included in any accurate and disinterested report," the statement said.

Dominion's lawsuit, which seeks $1.6 billion in damages, alleges that the chain promoted allegations of voter fraud for its own business interests and that Dominion humiliated and harassed its employees and threatened to kill them as a result.

Fox News defended itself by arguing that it had fairly reported a major story alleging election fraud by the current President of the United States.

"Dominion's motion for summary judgment takes an extreme and unjustified view of defamation law and is based on a statement of fact that has no basis in the record," a Fox News spokesperson told Insider. in court last Thursday.

"Dominion misrepresented documents, took quotes out of context, and spilled too much ink on facts that are irrelevant under the principles of defamation law."

The lengthy court document also cites text messages between Fox News executives and executives in which they privately mocked voter fraud conspiracy theories in support of Trump during the campaign.

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