In Nevada probate court earlier this year, members of the Murdoch family secretly fought over who would inherit the many properties Rupert owns. The original plan called for the eldest Murdoch to hand over control of the media ownership to his three children as part of a power-sharing agreement, but Rupert attempted to change the trust and give his eldest, most conservative son Lachlan control of the Fox Corporation.

This attempt was rejected by a probate commissioner, who criticized Lachlan and Rupert for acting in “bad faith” in their attempts to change the family trust and attacked Rupert for suggesting a “carefully crafted farce”. The commissioner found that Rupert’s representatives “displayed dishonesty as to intent and motive.” Lachlan and Rupert can appeal the decision that was sealed but preserved The New York Times earlier this month.

An anonymous source told CNN that Smartmatic believes the testimony in the Nevada battle contradicts Fox’s claim in its defamation lawsuit that the person who controls the company has no influence over the editorial direction of Fox News . According to the source, Rupert claimed in Nevada that Lachlan needed to succeed him in order to continue Fox News’ right-wing stance. An outside party in the Nevada case filed a motion just last week, although the files are still sealed.