Voting tech firm's defamation suit against right-wing Newsmax can head to trial: report

Daniel Hampton
September 12, 2024 

Michigan is conducting an investigation into nine people who allegedly tried to gain access to voting machines after the 2020 election. - Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

A Delaware judge ruled Thursday that a defamation case filed by voting tech firm Smartmatic against the right-wing network Newsmax can proceed to trial at the end of this month, according to a report.

The trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 30, CNN reported, though such cases often never reach that stage, as the parties negotiate a settlement out of court.

Newsmax’s tried to have the case dismissed, but Superior Court Judge Eric Davis rejected the argument and found that jurors ought to hear about the network's actions four years ago.

“Newsmax reported on allegations regarding the Election and Smartmatic, but there remains a dispute as to whether Newsmax recklessly disregarded the truth,” Davis wrote, according to CNN. “The jury must determine if Newsmax was doing what media organizations typically do — inform the public of newsworthy events—or did Newsmax purposely avoid the truth and defame Smartmatic."

The voting tech company has said Newsmax promoted a baseless — and debunked — theory that its machines helped tilt the 2020 election against former President Donald Trump. The network has said it was free to cover the news of attempts to contest the results under the First Amendment.

CNN noted that if a settlement is not reached, Newsmax executives and on-air hosts may be forced to testify about their discussions with Trump regarding the 2020 election against President Joe Biden, which Trump has falsely maintained he won.

The news comes after the right-wing news outlet One American News Network, or OANN, settled a defamation suit in April that was brought by Smartmatic over the same claims. The terms of that settlement were confidential.