Newsmax Pays Eight-Figure Sum To Settle Dominion Defamation Case Over 2020 Election Coverage

Newsmax has agreed to pay $67 million to settle a defamation lawsuit filed against it by Dominion Voting Systems for its coverage of President Trump’s claims of election malfeasance in 2020, but is issuing a strong statement professing it did nothing wrong.The cable news outlet was accused of spreading conspiracy theories about electronic voting machines switching votes to President Biden from Mr. Trump during the 2020 presidential election. A trial was set to begin in October.The settlement is detailed in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing posted Monday by the conservative news outlet. The filing shows that the settlement will be paid over the next three fiscal years. About one-third of the settlement, or $27 million, was paid on Friday, the company reported, with another $20 million to be paid on or before January 15 and a final $20 million on or before January 15, 2027.Dominion originally filed its lawsuit against Newsmax in 2021, seeking $1.6 billion in damages. The company emailed a short statement to The New York Sun that simply said, “We are pleased to have settled this matter.”In a lengthy statement released on Monday, Newsmax said it has always maintained that its reporting was not defamatory and that its coverage was consistent with accepted journalistic standards. The company claims it only settled the suit because it felt it would not receive a fair trial in Delaware.“Newsmax believed it was critically important for the American people to hear both sides of the election disputes that arose in 2020,” Newsmax stated. “We stand by our coverage as fair, balanced, and conducted within professional standards of journalism.”Dominion previously reached a $787 million settlement with Fox in a case that was before the same Delaware judge, Eric Davis.“From the very beginning, Judge Davis ruled in ways that strongly favored the plaintiffs and limited Newsmax’s ability to defend itself,” Newsmax stated. It added that Judge Davis had a presumption of guilt and indicated that it was likely to suppress information that would help Newsmax defend itself.“The actions taken against Newsmax, and earlier against Fox News, represent a direct attack on free speech and a free press,” the CEO of Newsmax, Christopher Ruddy, said.Newsmax encouraged any business incorporated in Delaware to exit the state. Newsmax has moved its incorporation to Florida.Newsmax settled a case last year brought by another voting systems company, Smartmatic USA. It paid $40 million to settle that suit shortly before the trial was set to begin.MyPillow’s Mike Lindell, one of the voices that helped spread the conspiracy theory on Newsmax, still faces a libel suit from Dominion. In June, in a separate trial, a federal jury found Mr. Lindell had defamed a former Dominion official and ordered him to pay $2.3 million in that case.

Newsmax Pays Eight-Figure Sum To Settle Dominion Defamation Case Over 2020 Election Coverage

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