Fox News Execs Allegedly Ignored Bret Baier's Attempts To Air Special Debunking Trump's 2020 Election Fraud Claims: Report
April 10 2023, Published 2:00 p.m. ET
Fox News star Bret Baier allegedly tried to air a one-hour special debunking 2020 election fraud claims but was repeatedly ignored by network executives, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In a surprising development to come as Fox News prepares to battle a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit filed against the network by Dominion Voting Systems, a new report published this week by NPR indicates Baier attempted to push back against the election fraud claims that ultimately led to the devastating lawsuit.
According to at least five network sources with knowledge of the situation, Baier proposed to air an hour-long special debunking claims the 2020 presidential election was rigged against then-President Donald Trump.
Although Baier first proposed the special report in late November and continued to push for the special into early January, the Fox News star never received a “direct verdict” for his pitch from Fox News executives.
Baier reportedly gave up on the idea just shortly before the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol when supporters of then-President Trump attempted to stop Congress from officially calling the election for Joe Biden.
“By the time everything was moving forward, we were transitioning to covering Biden’s first term,” one Fox News executive told NPR while speaking on the condition of anonymity.
“It was past the point of litigating this point any further,” the network exec added.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Dominion’s $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News is scheduled to go to trial on April 17.
The voting machine company is suing the network over allegations the Rupert Murdoch-owned outlet “promoted” former President Trump’s claims the 2020 election was rigged against him and that Dominion’s voting machines were used to switch millions of votes for him to then-candidate Biden instead.
Baier is also reportedly one of the first witnesses Dominion plans to call to testify when the defamation lawsuit goes to trial next week.
Megan Meier, an attorney representing Dominion in the company’s lawsuit against Fox News, reportedly praised Baier for his refusal to push the election fraud claims being “promoted” by his fellow network reporters.
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"I have a lot of respect for how you personally covered the 2020 election and the false claims and conspiracy theories that arose in the months after it," Meier reportedly said in November while questioning Baier under oath about the network’s 2020 election coverage.
Baier is also expected to be questioned under oath over claims he suggested Fox News retract their controversial – albeit accurate – projection that Biden would win the state of Arizona in November 2020.
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A spokeswoman for Fox has previously said the case “is and always has been about the First Amendment protections of the media’s absolute right to cover the news.”
“Fox will continue to fiercely advocate for the rights of free speech and a free press," the rep added.
