A Smartmatic representative demonstrates his company’s system, which has scanners and touch screens with printout options, at a meeting of the Secure, Accessible & Fair Elections Commission in Grovetown, Ga., in 2018. Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via Associated Press
Fox News’s legal troubles related to the 2020 presidential election are far from over, despite its massive settlement with Dominion Voting Systems announced Tuesday afternoon.
The media company also faces a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit filed by another voting technology company, Smartmatic, that alleges Fox broadcast lies that “decimated” its business.
In a nearly 300-page complaint filed in New York State Supreme Court in February 2021, Smartmatic alleges that Fox News knowingly made “over 100 false statements and implications” about the company, amplifying false information from former president Donald Trump and his allies that Smartmatic played a role in his election loss. In February, a New York appeals court ruled that the case was allowed to proceed.
After Fox News’s $787.5 million settlement with Dominion was announced Tuesday, Smartmatic attorney J. Erik Connolly released a statement.
“Dominion’s litigation exposed some of the misconduct and damage caused by Fox’s disinformation campaign. Smartmatic will expose the rest,” Connolly said. “Smartmatic remains committed to clearing its name, recouping the significant damage done to the company, and holding Fox accountable for undermining democracy.”
A Fox spokeswoman did not immediately respond to questions about that case on Tuesday. In the past, the company has called the lawsuit meritless and said it would defend itself.
In addition to Fox Corp. and Fox News, the complaint named Fox’s on-air hosts Maria Bartiromo, Lou Dobbs and Jeanine Pirro, as well as former Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell. A judge last year ruled the case could go forward but dropped Pirro from the lawsuit because she did not specifically accuse Smartmatic of wrongdoing and dropped Powell from it because she is a Texas resident and the New York court doesn’t have jurisdiction over her.
“Mr. Giuliani and Ms. Powell needed a platform to use to spread their story,” the lawsuit stated. “They found a willing partner in Fox News.”
After Smartmatic demanded a retraction from Fox in December 2020, the network aired a short segment on several shows aimed at clearing up misinformation about the voting technology company. The company moved ahead with its lawsuit soon afterward. It cited dozens of examples of statements that it called false, including one where Giuliani claimed Smartmatic was founded by Venezuelans close to dictator Hugo Chávez “to fix elections.”
As Dominion did in its lawsuit, Smartmatic alleged Fox aired its broadcasts as it worried about losing a chunk of its audience to right-wing networks Newsmax and One America News.
In November 2021, Smartmatic also sued Newsmax and the parent company of One America News, alleging that the outlets similarly defamed Smartmatic by suggesting it helped rig the election against Trump.
Smartmatic’s lawsuit against Newsmax is being handled by Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis, the same judge who oversaw Dominion’s lawsuit against Fox.
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