A Delaware judge has ruled that cable news channel Newsmax aired false and defamatory statements about Dominion Voting Systems as part of its coverage of the 2020 election.
On Thursday, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis ruled the statements made on Newsmax were defamatory, and Dominion must now prove in court the channel acted with “actual malice” to harm the company’s reputation.
Davis’s ruling comes ahead of a jury trial that is slated to begin later this month in connection with the voting system provider’s defamation lawsuit against the conservative cable channel. (RELATED: Report: Fox News Reaches Last-Minute Settlement With Dominion Voting Systems)
Dominion sued Newsmax in 2021 over a series of claims alleging the company’s machines were manipulated to swing votes in President Biden’s favor and against former President Trump.
In a new statement Wednesday, Newsmax said it “covered both sides of the 2020 election dispute fairly. At no time did it defame Dominion. This case represents a serious threat to free speech and a free press and Newsmax will defend itself vigorously at trial.”
Dominion in a statement to The Hill said it was “gratified” by the court’s ruling.
Dominion previously sued Fox News over its coverage of the 2020 election, which resulted in the outlet paying a $787 million settlement.
The settlement came just hours before opening arguments in the defamation trial were slated to begin in a Delaware courtroom.
In a statement, Fox News Media said the network was “pleased” to reach a settlement and that it acknowledged “the Court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false.”
“We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues,” the statement read.
Last year, Newsmax settled a separate defamation lawsuit with the voting company Smartmatic.
“Newsmax is pleased to announce it has resolved the litigation brought by Smartmatic through a confidential settlement,” network spokesperson, Bill Daddi announced. (RELATED: Newsmax Settles Election Defamation Lawsuit With Smartmatic)
The undisclosed settlement agreed to likely reduces the financial impact on the cable news outlet.
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Screw Dominion. Don’t pay them a dime. Judge is activist, wrong.
I 100% agree with you. I believe the Dominion machines were corrupted, it’s just that nobody has been able to access them until after it was too late to prove anything. I would look for payoffs and kickbacks instead to see how the machines were marketed. Unless you can find a former employee who is willing to tell all.
By the way Dominion machines have been used for decades in Venezuela to change vote totals – a little investigation and background research would render than fairly obvious.