Lachlan Murdoch, whose family controls the Fox media empire, issued a full-throated show of support Thursday for Suzanne Scott, CEO of Fox News Media, as the cable channel faces a $1.6 billion defamation suit that has generated a cascade of unflattering revelations about its inner workings.

“I just think Suzanne Scott has done a tremendous job,” Murdoch said at an investor conference in San Francisco, his first public remarks since Fox News has come under intense scrutiny over its handling of spurious claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

“The brand is incredibly strong. The core business is incredibly strong,” Murdoch said, pointing to Fox News’ significant ratings advantage over rivals CNN and MSNBC. “It’s a credit to Suzanne Scott and all of her team there. They’ve done a tremendous job of building this business and running this business.”

The defamation suit, filed by Dominion Voting Systems, argues that Fox News leadership allowed stars such as Jeanine Pirro and Lou Dobbs to air rank falsehoods about rigged voting machines that ruined Dominion’s business. Rupert Murdoch said in a deposition that any of his executives who knowingly allowed lies to be broadcast “should be reprimanded, maybe got rid of.”