A former Fox News Capitol Hill reporter and producer has sued the network, claiming he was fired for challenging its on-air lies about the 2020 election.
Jason Donner alleges in the lawsuit that Fox News knew President Donald Trump’s claims that voter fraud was behind his 2020 loss were false but that following backlash from Trump and the network’s audience over its Election Day announcement that President Joe Biden had won Arizona, it “purged” journalists who spoke out against false election fraud claims.
“To win back viewership and pledge its loyalty to President Trump, Fox’s corporate leadership purged the news division and those reporters who spoke out against claims of election fraud,” says the suit, which was initially filed in Washington, D.C., Superior Court but has since moved to a federal court.
The wrongful termination and discrimination claim seeks undisclosed damages and expenses, as well as a judgment that would prohibit Fox News from discriminating or retaliating against Donner or other current or former Fox News employees. Though it was filed Sept. 27, the lawsuit did not come to light until Monday in a report by the Daily Beast.
“Mr. Donner’s lawsuit speaks for itself, and we have no further comment beyond that,” plaintiff’s lawyer Brendan J. Klaproth said by email.
Neither a Fox News spokesperson nor lawyers for the network responded to requests for comment.
The suit claims the network “immediately capitulated to Trump” after he denounced it. Post-election layoffs included the reporter who made the announcement on the air, Chris Stirewalt, and about 20 other journalists, the suit says.
The filing cites text messages between Lachlan Murdoch, a co-chair of Fox News’ parent company, News Corp., and the network’s CEO, Suzanne Scott, in which Scott is quoted as saying the network’s Arizona call “was damaging but we will highlight our stars and plant flags letting the viewers know we hear them and respect them.”
A News Corp. spokesperson did not immediately respond to an inquiry seeking comment from Murdoch or his representatives at the company.
According to the suit, Donner was reprimanded and prohibited from expressing “opinions” when, on Nov. 19, 2020, he posted on Twitter (now known as X) that Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani claimed voter fraud in Philadelphia but told a Pennsylvania court, “This is not a fraud case.”
Fox News became a “toxic environment” for journalists with allegiance to the truth, the suit says, and the toxicity reached a peak on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to thwart the counting of the electoral votes certifying Biden’s victory.
Donner was working in the Senate’s Radio and Television Correspondents Gallery when the Capitol was breached, the claim says. As the Capitol began to be “attacked,” he said, he sought refuge inside the Fox News booth as the network reported that the rioters were “peaceful,” according to the suit.
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