Liz Cho agreed during a July 24 virtual hearing to produce all cell phone communications with any alleged lovers, despite initially fighting against the request.
Cho is being ordered to fork over six years worth of private text messages to her estranged ex, former CBS anchor Josh Elliott, as their messy divorce battle rages on in court.
The judge ordered Cho to produce six years of cell phone communications to Elliott and his legal team, a move that could expose highly personal details of her private life during the divorce case.
The July 24 virtual hearing marked another setback for the Eyewitness News anchor in a case that has grown increasingly contentious.
The new order came after Elliott agreed to Cho’s demand that he supply all of his communications with any alleged extramarital “sexual” partners.
Cho originally asked Elliott to hand over any text messages he exchanged with extramarital ‘sexual’ partners, and Elliott agreed to do so in March — and subsequently hit back by demanding Cho hand over any such communications she may have shared with lovers.
Cho initially resisted the request, but at the recent hearing whose ruling was obtained, she agreed to supply any such communications.
The judge also ordered Cho to provide explanation for a separate financial matter.
She and Elliott previously argued over an October 2025 transfer of $500,000 from their joint bank account to that of her teenage daughter from a previous marriage.
Judge Dembo has ruled that she must provide further details about it.
Cho did secure some wins in the hearing.
The judge denied Elliott’s request for a broad collection of documents that Cho’s legal team plans to use at trial and also rejected Elliott’s request for records involving powers of attorney, ruling that the information could be obtained directly from the appropriate institutions if needed.
The court noted there is no suggestion that either Cho or Elliott was unfaithful during their marriage.
The protective order request filed on July 17 came before the hearing.
Cho’s legal team claimed they provided options for alternative deposition dates after her attorneys notified Elliott’s legal team that “none of the attorneys on [Cho’s] legal team are available on July 23rd due to previously scheduled conflicts.”
Despite initially fighting against the request, the ABC Eyewitness News anchor agreed to produce all cell phone communications with any alleged lovers during a July 24 virtual hearing.
The original protective order motion stated that Elliott’s counsel had “offered to coordinate a mutually convenient alternative date for the deposition and provided options for such alternative date,” but alleged Elliott’s legal team did not respond.
The case involves a long series of disputes that have become increasingly bizarre. Previous court filings included disputes over household items, pet care, alleged surveillance, jewelry, and even grapes stored in the family refrigerator.
According to Elliott’s court filings, he claimed that Cho once yelled at him for packing grapes in his daughter’s school lunch, with the filing stating that Cho “lash[ed] out” at Elliott “while he was washing grapes for his daughter’s lunch, exclaiming that the grapes were hers and he was not permitted to put them in the child’s lunch.”
In the viral moment that exposed the breakdown between the anchors, Cho filed a contempt motion on January 29 claiming Elliott arranged a moving truck to remove furniture and their two Portuguese Water Dogs while she vacationed with her daughter on January 19.
Liz claimed Josh moved a “significant amount of furniture and furnishings from the marital residence,” along with their “two Portuguese Water dogs,” who she alleged were “supposed to stay in the marital residence.” She claimed his alleged actions are a “willful violation” of the court’s orders and requested that Josh be sanctioned.
Elliott denied the allegations in court papers. Josh replied to the jewelry claim, “Perhaps most egregious is [Cho’s] baseless accusation that [Elliott] stole her jewelry. He then accused her of “monitoring and listening to [Elliott’s] private phone calls; Rifling through [Elliott’s] personal belongings and closet; Leaving the marital residence for extended periods without communication despite the presence of two dogs requiring daily care.”
Judge Dembo has now pushed the divorce trial to October.