Newsmax has settled a defamation lawsuit filed by Smartmatic over the cable channel's false claims that the voting technology company rigged the 2020 presidential election to favor Joe Biden. Terms of the deal, reached as jury selection was underway, were not announced, NBC News reports. The trial was to begin next week. One of Smartmatic's arguments was going to be that since it was only operating in Los Angeles County during the election, it could hardly have thrown the national result. The company's defamation case was centered on 24 claims made on Newsmax, some by network employees and some by guests supporting Donald Trump.
To win, Smartmatic would have had to convince the jury that Newsmax hosts and executives knew the claims were false but allowed them anyway, satisfying the "actual malice" legal standard. Newsmax contends it was just reporting on newsworthy accusations by people close to Trump's campaign, per the Washington Post. Newsmax is based in Florida and was counting on a state law that specifies media outlets can report on judicial and quasi-judicial proceedings, provided they do it fairly and impartially.
Smartmatic also has sued Fox News, a case that could go to trial next year. The voting company settled a similar defamation lawsuit against One America News in April; terms were not announced in that case, either. Fox News' parent company, Fox Corp., settled a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems last year, agreeing to pay $787.5 million, also avoiding a trial. Newsmax and Smartmatic said they were pleased at the settlement, per the Post. "Lying to the American people has consequences," a Smartmatic spokesperson said Thursday in a statement. "Smartmatic will not stop until the perpetrators are held accountable." (More Newsmax stories.)
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