A Delaware judge agreed Thursday to send another defamation case to trial for the 2020 election, ruling that Newsmax Media published false claims. Smartmatic voting machines He rigged the 2020 elections.
The jury will soon decide whether the network was defamed voting machine company – that is, published these claims with actual malice or reckless disregard for the truth and caused damage to the company – and whether damages are due.
“The jury must determine whether Newsmax did what media organizations typically do — inform the public about newsworthy events — or whether Newsmax purposefully misrepresented Smartmatic,” Judge Eric Davis wrote in the 57-page decision.
The trial will begin on September 30. Associated Press informed.
Florida-based voting machine company Smartmatic sued Florida-based Newsmax Media in 2021, alleging defamation, alleging the network’s devices rigged the 2020 election. Newsmax claimed that it reported on newsworthy events and that some of the allegations in question were true.
Former President Donald Trump and his allies have repeatedly claimed that the 2020 election was rigged. Trump’s lawyers pointed to Smartmatic as one of the culprits.
In Thursday’s ruling, Davis granted parts of both sides’ motions and denied others. He agreed with Newsmax that not all of the allegedly defamatory statements were proven to be false, allowing him to argue fraud in court. He also said there was no evidence that Newsmax acted with intent to harm Smartmatic with its coverage.
But in Smartmatic’s victory, it ruled that the fraudulent election allegations, published by Newsmax and specific to Smartmatic, were categorically false.
“What is said about Smartmatic software or voting machines altering the results of the election is factually false. Reports and investigations by multiple state and federal agencies since the election have generally reached the same conclusion,” Davis said in his ruling.
Davis led a similar lawsuit last year between Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News; the parties agreed $787.5 million before trial.
Smartmatic’s case is quite different, as the voting machine company was only used in Los Angeles during the 2020 election.
“Today’s decision confirms our position. As we said earlier, Newsmax’s own people knew they had no evidence that Smartmatic was involved in any fraud related to the 2020 elections and yet they continued to peddle this false story. Newsmax should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. We look forward to going to court and presenting our case,” said Eric Connolly, Smartmatic’s lead litigation attorney.
Newsmax did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday night.
Smartmatic filed a separate defamation lawsuit against One America News Network earlier this year. Details of the settlement have not been released.