CNN — A New York judge on Monday shut down an attempt by Fox News to subpoena George Soros, the Jewish billionaire and frequent target of far-right conspiracy theories, and search for additional links between him and Smartmatic, a voting technology company at the center of false election claims during the 2020 election.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice David B. Cohen rejected Fox Corp. and Fox News’ attempts to subpoena George Soros, his son Alex Soros, and their philanthropic organization Open Society Foundation (OSF) for documents related to the election defamation case. Soros, who has donated heavily to progressive causes, has been the frequent target of right-wing attacks, often playing into antisemitic tropes.
Fox argued that Alex and George Soros, as well as OSF, possess material necessary to the network’s defense in the defamation trial. The documentation, Fox argued, would establish a connection between George Soros and Smartmatic. But Fox’s documentation was irrelevant, the judge said, adding that the matter was peripheral.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A New York judge on Monday shut down an attempt by Fox News to subpoena George Soros, the Jewish billionaire and frequent target of far-right conspiracy theories, and search for additional links between him and Smartmatic, a voting technology company at the center of false election claims during the 2020 election.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice David B. Cohen rejected Fox Corp. and Fox News’ attempts to subpoena George Soros, his son Alex Soros, and their philanthropic organization Open Society Foundation (OSF) for documents related to the election defamation case.
Fox argued that Alex and George Soros, as well as OSF, possess material necessary to the network’s defense in the defamation trial.
Fox has since filed a counterclaim, arguing that Smartmatic is using the high-profile lawsuit to attract investors and quell free speech.
Attorneys for Fox alleged that comments made by Giuliani and Powell did not constitute defamation but were instead intended to question the nature of this relationship.
Through the subpoena, Fox sought to direct OSF to search for any mention of the key term “Smartmatic” to clarify the relationship between the voting technology company and Soros, Marks said.
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