Fox Corp.’s prime lawyer and a detailed aide to Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch is stepping down within the firm’s greatest administration shift since its $787.5 million settlement of defamation claims by Dominion Voting Systems.
Viet Dinh, Fox’s chief authorized and coverage officer, will depart that position on Dec. 31 and develop into a particular adviser to the corporate, the corporate introduced Friday. As a part of his separation settlement, Dinh will obtain a $23 million lump-sum fee and $2.5 million a 12 months as an adviser underneath a two-year contract.
A Fox assertion didn’t state a purpose for Dinh’s departure, however an individual conversant in the matter, although stressing the parting was amicable, mentioned it was largely as a result of unhappiness on the firm over his dealing with of the Dominion case and its consequence — the most important payout ever in a media defamation case.
“We appreciate Viet’s many contributions and service to Fox as both a board member of 21st Century Fox and in his role over the last five years as a valued member of Fox’s leadership team,” Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch mentioned in a press release. “We are grateful that he will continue to serve Fox as special adviser where we will benefit from his counsel.”
Dinh is the second main determine to depart Fox within the wake of its April settlement of Dominion’s go well with over Fox News’s airing of 2020 election fraud claims. In May, Tucker Carlson, the community’s hottest host, was fired. Fox News nonetheless faces one other defamation go well with by one other voting machine maker, Smartmatic Corp., which is in search of $2.7 billion in damages over claims of rigged voting.
A former Justice Department official and prime Washington lawyer, Dinh had risen into the Murdochs’ inside circle at Fox, turning into a trusted adviser to the moguls. But the New York Times reported in May that Dinh was going through criticism over his assurances to the Fox board that the corporate would finally prevail within the case, on attraction if not at trial.
Citing courtroom data and interviews with a couple of dozen folks concerned within the case, the Times reported that Dinh’s optimism led the corporate to delay the litigation, resulting in embarrassing disclosures of deposition testimony and communications by the Murdochs in addition to prime Fox executives and on-air personalities by which they solid doubt on the election claims they have been broadcasting.
According to courtroom filings, Dinh participated in discussions of Fox News’s protection within the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, He was copied, together with Rupert Murdoch and Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott, on a November 2020 e mail from one other Fox govt, Raj Shah, who expressed concern about former Trump marketing campaign lawyer Sidney Powell’s “outlandish” voter fraud claims.
Dinh was assistant US lawyer basic within the administration of President George W. Bush. After leaving the federal government, Dinh went on to discovered Bancroft PLLC, a high-powered Washington litigation boutique identified for taking instances on behalf of conservative teams. The agency, which led Supreme Court challenges in opposition to Obamacare, was acquired by Kirkland & Ellis in 2016.
Dinh joined Fox as chief authorized officer in 2018 however earlier served as a director at two predecessor firms.
“I have been privileged to be part of the Fox family for over two decades as a director and officer, and I have especially treasured my relationships with Rupert, Lachlan and our talented colleagues over the years,” Dinh mentioned in a press release. “I look forward to continuing with Fox as special adviser, and to returning to my roots of working on multiple ventures and with many clients across a variety of disciplines.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”