Murdoch’s case against the independent news site Crikey was marked “discontinued/withdrawn” on the Federal Court website on Friday morning.

But his lawyers maintain that Crikey’s allegations – in a legal battle a Federal Court judge described as a “scorched-earth policy” driven by “ego, hubris and ideology” – were untrue.

“Mr Murdoch remains confident that the court would ultimately find in his favour,” lawyer John Churchill said in a statement.

“However he does not wish to further enable Crikey’s use of the court to litigate a case from another jurisdiction that has already been settled.”

On Wednesday, Fox Corp and Fox News agreed to pay $1.2 billion to Dominion Voting Systems to avert a trial about false vote-rigging claims in the wake of president Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 election.

The settlement, on the eve of a trial in which Rupert Murdoch and Fox News hosts were expected to be called as witnesses, was said to be the biggest ever made for a defamation lawsuit.

“Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion that caused enormous damage to my company, our employees and our customers,” Dominion said. “Truthful reporting in the media is essential to our democracy.”

Lachlan Murdoch sued Crikey’s publishers Private Media over a story published in June last year about events following the 2020 US presidential election, that was taken down but re-posted a month later.

He alleged the article, titled “Trump is a confirmed unhinged traitor. And Murdoch is his unindicted co-conspirator”, conveyed a meaning that the Fox News chief illegally conspired with Trump to “incite a mob with murderous intent to march on the Capitol” in Washington DC on January 6.

Trump supporters break into the US Capitol in an attempt to stop Congress ratifying the election result. Photo: Lev Radin/Sipa USA

Crikey denied the article was defamatory and raised a public interest defence, alleging that Murdoch was “morally and ethically culpable” for the attack on the Capitol.

Murdoch first sued Crikey publisher Private Media, political editor Bernard Keane and former editor-in-chief Peter Fray.

But in January, Murdoch succeeded in expanding his case to sue chairman Eric Beecher and CEO Will Hayward, arguing they were the “guiding minds” of Private Media behind the article’s reposting.

His legal team argued that the decision was a commercial one which boosted Crikey’s subscribers by 5000 people or 25 per cent.

The court heard the through the added subscriptions, the publisher gained around $500,000 with a further $500,000 brought in through a GoFundMe campaign.

Private Media later said it would add a “contextual truth” defence to its already pleaded defences of public interest and qualified privilege, including personal communications between the Murdoch family revealed by Dominion defamation proceedings before the US trial.

In one SMS, Rupert Murdoch told his son Lachlan and Fox board member Paul Ryan about Trump’s “conspiracy nonsense” and referred to Fox talk show host Sean Hannity.

“Wake up call for Hannity who has been privately disgusted by Trump for weeks but has been scared to lose viewers,” Rupert Murdoch wrote.

A protest outside Murdoch HQ in New York. Photo: Anthony Behar/SIPA USA

Private Media barrister Michael Hodge KC said that Lachlan Murdoch could still be held responsible for events of January 6.

“He controls Fox Corporation. He permitted for the commercial and financial benefit of Fox Corporation this lie to be broadcast in the United States,” Hodge said.

“We say that gives rise to culpability where you are allowing and promoting this lie and that lie is the motivation for the insurrection.”

But Murdoch’s barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC said the “contextual truth” defence was vague and did not say how her client was culpable for the state of mind of about 2000 people who stormed the Capitol building.

Chrysanthou said other Murdoch-owned publications, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Post and even Fox itself, had reported that Biden won the election and had disagreed with Trump’s claims.

“This defence is not rational, it is not arguable, it’s a waste of everyone’s time and it serves no legitimate end in the litigation,” she said.

Crikey’s legal team Marque Lawyers said it was satisfied with today’s result.

“He’ll (Lachlan Murdoch) be up for Crikey’s legal costs. We and our client are well pleased,” the firm’s Twitter statement said.

-with AAP