Another loss for Fox News in its legal fight against voting system company Smartmatic.
The latest hiccup in the case against Smartmatic came after a judge rejected a request by attorneys for Fox News to subpoena billionaire George Soros.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice David B. Cohen on Monday shot down a request from Fox to compel Soros to provide documents and testimony as part of its process of discovery in the case.
“I base that on the finding that the crux of Smartmatic's claims is that Fox has asserted they were part of rigging [the election], not that Smartmatic was affiliated with George Soros, Alex Soros, or the OSF,” Cohen said in open court Monday, CNN reported. “That's a peripheral matter — at best, it's a possible rationale for defamation.”
In a statement issued in response to the judge's ruling, the network said: “We are pleased that counsel for Soros and Smartmatic conceded during the hearing today that there are connections between Smartmatic and Soros, as confirmed by documents from Smartmatic and the public record.”
In an earlier court filing this month, Fox's lawyers said the network is “entitled to all evidence that is relevant to Smartmatic‘s claims and Fox's defenses, including evidence bearing on the full extent of Smartmatic's entanglement with the Soros Group.” (RELATED: Fox News Requests Judge Compel Soros As Part Of Smartmatic Defamation Lawsuit)
As part of its process of legal discovery, Fox sought to depose Mark Malloch Brown, who is the president of the Soros-backed Open Society Foundation and served as chairman of Smartmatic's parent company.
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