Fox Corp. Chief Legal and Policy Officer Viet Dinh will step down from his post, months after the company agreed to pay a $787.5 million settlement to Dominion Voting Systems.
The departure comes after Dinh advised the company through the lawsuit with the voting machines company, which was halted just short of a trial with the April settlement. The company has continued to feel the fallout since.
Dominion hit Fox with a defamation lawsuit arguing its networks “intentionally and falsely” blamed the company for the 2020 election loss of former President Donald Trump to President Joe Biden by airing unsubstantiated claims that Dominion’s machines rigged the election.
While Fox agreed to the settlement, its hosts weren’t required to talk about the lawsuit or make any public apology for on-air statements.
Days after the settlement was reached, Fox ousted primetime host Tucker Carlson, who has since started his own show on X, the website formerly known as Twitter. Since then, Jesse Watters has become the replacement for the same primetime slot Carlson once held.
Carlson and Dinh were among the Fox anchors and executives who were questioned as part of the lawsuit. Depositions, emails, texts and other correspondence were part of the reams of evidence released before the settlement.
Leading up to the trial, Dominion had been urging the court to compel Fox’s top brass, including Dinh, to appear for in-person testimony. The judge presiding over the case said in the weeks before the trial’s start date that he could compel executives to testify.
Dinh joined the company in the top legal role in 2018 and since then has led all of its legal, compliance and regulatory matters, in addition to overseeing government affairs.
He will step down effective Dec. 31 and become a special advisor to the company.
“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,” said Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch in a news release. “We are grateful that he will continue to serve FOX as Special Advisor where we will benefit from his counsel.”