WILMINGTON, Del. — Attorneys defending Fox in a defamation case related to false claims about the 2020 election withheld critical information about the role company founder Rupert Murdoch played at Fox News, a revelation that angered the judge when it came up at a Tuesday hearing.

It was not clear whether the development would affect a trial scheduled to begin Thursday with jury selection. Dominion Voting Systems is suing Fox for $1.6 billion, saying it damaged its reputation by repeatedly airing false claims that the company helped orchestrate a fraud that cost former President Donald Trump re-election.

The role of Fox executives is at the heart of the case. The company’s attorneys have sought to insulate members of the Murdoch family and to keep them from testifying live before a jury, arguing that their roles at the parent company, Fox Corp., put them at a distance from the Fox News shows that aired the bogus claims.

Fox Corp. had asserted since Dominion filed its lawsuit in 2021 that Rupert Murdoch had no official role at Fox News. In its filings, it had listed Fox News officers as Suzanne Scott, Jay Wallace and Joe Dorrego.

But on Easter Sunday, Fox disclosed to Dominion’s attorneys that Murdoch also is “executive chair” at Fox News. The disclosure came after Superior Court Judge Eric Davis wondered aloud during a status conference last week who Fox News’ officers were.

Davis was clearly disturbed by the disclosure, coming on the eve of the trial.

“My problem is that it has been represented to me more than once that he is not an officer,” the judge said.

Davis suggested that had he known of Murdoch’s dual role at Fox Corp. and Fox News, he might have reached different conclusions in a summary judgment ruling he issued last month. In that ruling, the judge said there was no dispute that the statements aired by Fox were false, but that a jury would have to decide whether Fox News acted with actual malice and whether Fox Corp. directly participated in airing the statements.

To Fox attorney Matthew Carter, Davis said: “You have a credibility problem.”

In response, Carter said he believed Murdoch’s title at Fox News was only “honorific.”

“I’m not mad at you,” the judge later told Carter. “I’m mad at the situation I’m in.”

In a statement issued after Tuesday’s pretrial hearing, Fox said, “Rupert Murdoch has been listed as executive chairman of Fox News in our SEC filings since 2019 and this filing was referenced by Dominion’s own attorney during his deposition.”

It’s unclear whether the judge will take any action in response to the late disclosure. But an attorney for Dominion said he wanted Fox to further explain Murdoch’s role with the network, indicating the issue could come up when the pretrial hearing continues Wednesday.

The team representing former President Donald Trump’s campaign accused Florida Governor Ron DeSantis of taking advantage of his constituents by engaging in “taxpayer-funded globetrotting” during unofficial presidential campaign trips, demanding that he instead resign from his post and officially announce his 2024 run for the White House.

The Trump campaign team sent out an e-mail on Monday, referencing Florida’s “resign to run” law that mandates candidates running for political office must resign from the current post that they hold a minimum of 10 days before starting their new campaign.

“Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is currently on a month-long, taxpayer-funded presidential campaign schedule paid for by Florida taxpayers, and new questions are emerging as to whether this will force DeSantis to resign from office,” the Trump team’s email said. 

DeSantis is currently engaging in a countrywide tour during April, with stops planned in Georgia, Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, Ohio, New Hampshire, Utah, Texas, and South Carolina.

In the email, Trump spokesman Steven also accused DeSantis of engaging in “taxpayer-funded globetrotting” via upcoming planned trips to several different countries – such as Japan and Israel – to “score some last-minute foreign policy credentials for his 2024 presidential campaign.” 

“Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to campaign full-time for president, during the Florida legislative session, while collecting a salary and having the taxpayers pick up the costs for his travel and security. It’s a massive flip-flop from his position in 2018,” Cheung said. 

However, Cheung did not provide specific evidence implicating that DeSantis is using the tax dollars of his constituents for his current travels.

DeSantis recently had two separate ethics complaints filed against him; the first from Florida Democrat Nikki Fried, who alleged he attended a $235,000 donor-funded retreat at the Four Seasons in Palm Beach, Florida. The second comes from MAGA Inc. – a Trump-linked super PAC – who filed a March 14 complaint purporting that the Florida governor had solicited and received “millions of dollars” in illegal gifts.

DeSantis has not yet announced his official run for the White House in 2024, but if the time comes that he does, he is anticipated to be Trump’s biggest rival for the GOP nomination.