New York: In May 2018, the nation’s top Republicans needed help. So, they called on the founder of Fox News, Rupert Murdoch.
President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell were trying to stop West Virginia Republicans from nominating Don Blankenship, who had been convicted of violating mine safety standards during a lethal accident in one of his coal mines, to challenge the state’s incumbent senator, Democrat Joe Manchin.
“Both Trump and McConnell are appealing for help to beat an unelectable former mine owner who served time,” Murdoch wrote to executives at Fox News, according to court records released this week. “Anything during the day is helpful, but Sean (Hannity) and Laura (Ingraham) dumping on him hard might save the day.”
Murdoch’s prodding, revealed in court documents that are part of a defamation lawsuit by a voting systems company, is one example showing how Fox became actively involved in politics instead of simply reporting or offering opinions about it. The revelations pose a challenge to the credibility of the most watched cable news network in the U.S. at the outset of a new election season in which Trump is again a leading player, having declared his third run for the White House.
Blankenship, who ended up losing the primary, said in an interview Wednesday that he felt the change right away, with the network’s coverage taking a harsher turn in the final hours before the primary.
“They were very smart about elections — they did their dumping the day before the election, so I had no time to react,” said Blankenship, who filed a separate, unsuccessful libel suit against Fox.
On Wednesday, the network characterized Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit as a flagrant attack on the First Amendment and said the company had taken statements out of context.
