Media outlet Newsmax has agreed to pay USD 67 million to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems, according to a report published by The Associated Press on Monday. The lawsuit, the report said, accused the network of spreading false claims about Dominion’s role in Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 US election. The settlement –crevealed in a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Monday — was finalised last Friday, per the news agency.
Notably, the latest agreement comes after a similar high-profile case last year, in which Fox News reportedly settled with Dominion for a staggering $787.5 million. Earlier, Newsmax had also paid $40 million to settle a libel lawsuit from another voting machine company Smartmatic, which had been caught in the crosshairs of election conspiracy theories aired on the network, the report said.
Court Had Ruled Newsmax Defamed Dominion
According to the report, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis had already ruled that Newsmax did, in fact, defame Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems by broadcasting falsehoods about its voting machines. However, in an event that the case had gone to trial, the contention of malice and the damages was left for the jury to decide on.
Trump Doubles Down on Anti-Voting Tech Rhetoric
Interestingly, the settlement disclosure coincided with fresh remarks from President Trump who posted on social media Monday a promise to eliminate mail-in voting and electronic machines — similar to those used by Dominion — if re-elected.
It remains unclear how he would implement such changes, especially given the American states control their own election systems.
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