Newsmax has settled a defamation lawsuit filed by voting machine company Smartmatic over the right-wing network’s false reporting on allegations of fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
A deal was reached Thursday as both sides headed to a trial in a Delaware court where jury selection was set to begin.
“Newsmax is pleased to announce that it has resolved litigation brought by Smartmatic through a confidential settlement,” the Boca Raton, Fla.-based network said in a statement.
Smartmatic’s lawsuit says Newsmax provided a platform for its hosts, Donald Trump and the former president’s lawyers and allies, to falsely claim that the company’s software was manipulated to engineer the president’s election Biden.
Smartmatic’s equipment was only used in Los Angeles County in 2020 and in none of the swing states that helped decide the election.
The claims were widely reported on Newsmax despite the lack of credible evidence of fraud and the complete dismissal of Trump’s legal challenges in court. Smartmatic claims to have lost business due to misrepresentations.
According to a statement from a Newsmax attorney at a pretrial hearing, Smartmatic had sought $1.7 billion in damages and then revised that demand to approximately $400 million. But Judge Eric Davis ruled Monday that there would be no punitive damages in the case and that Smartmatic would have to prove the actual financial impact of Newsmax’s actions.
Smartmatic limited the damages claim to the period of 2021 to 2023 so that a federal investigation into its actions abroad would not be entered into evidence. Smartmatic’s founder, a current employee and a former executive were indicted this year for alleged bribery of public officials in the Philippines. Smartmatic has not been charged as a company but remains under investigation.
Smartmatic has a similar $2.7 billion defamation suit against Fox News that could go to trial in New York next year.
“We are very pleased to have achieved a successful outcome in the case against Newsmax,” a Smartmatic representative said in a statement. “We now look forward to our day in court against Fox and Fox News. Lying to the American people has consequences.
Fox News paid $787 million in a settlement with Dominion Voting Systems just before that case went to trial in April 2023. Like Smartmatic, Dominion said Fox News’ reporting on false claims of voter fraud had harmed its activities.
Court filings that supported Dominion’s claims contained emails and internal communications showing that Fox News management and on-air talent knew about the lies.
Fox News said Trump’s election fraud claims were newsworthy and its reporting on them was protected by the 1st Amendment.
“We look forward to defending this case when it comes to trial,” a representative for the network said in a statement.
