Topline
Newsmax confirmed Monday it will pay $67 million to settle Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation case arguing the conservative news network knowingly made false claims about Dominion’s voting machines, the latest in a string of high-dollar settlements paid out by companies who falsely linked voting machines to fraud in the 2020 election—just as President Donald Trump continues to push the claims.
News anchors work at Newsmax’s booth during the second day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 16, 2024.
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
Newsmax said it will pay $67 million to Dominion Voting Systems in installments over the next three years—far lower than the $1.6 billion the voting machine company sought in damages when it initially sued Newsmax in 2021.
Dominion sued Newsmax alleging the right-wing news network pushed claims tying the company’s voting machines to election fraud despite knowing those claims were false, one of a number of lawsuits brought by Dominion and rival voting company Smartmatic following the 2020 election.
The case had been set to go to trial, with the Delaware judge overseeing the case finding in April that Newsmax made false claims about Dominion and broadcast information about the voting company that “would likely cause reasonable viewers to think significantly less favorably about Dominion than if the viewers knew the truth.”
Newsmax said Monday it still denies its reporting was defamatory, claiming its reporting was “fair” and “balanced” and the network “believed it was critically important for the American people to hear both sides of the election disputes that arose in 2020.”
The network decided to settle the case because it determined the court overseeing the case “would not provide a fair trial wherein the company could present standard libel defenses to a jury,” Newsmax claimed Monday.
The settlement comes after Newsmax also settled Smartmatic’s case against the news network in September 2024 for an undisclosed amount, which was later revealed to be $40 million.
Big Number
More than $800 million. That’s how much Dominion has won as a result of settlements in its defamation cases, including the voting company’s $787.5 million settlement with Fox News.
News Peg
News of the multimillion-dollar settlement came hours after President Donald Trump continued to assert claims about voting machines being tied to election fraud, despite those claims repeatedly proven as false. The president claimed on Truth Social on Monday he would “lead a movement” against mail-in ballots and some voting machines, which he claimed without evidence are “Highly ‘Inaccurate,’ Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial.” Court filings in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution against Trump for trying to overturn the 2020 election—which has now been dropped—previously suggested Trump privately does not believe the fraud claims regarding voting machines. The president allegedly “mocked” claims made by attorney Sidney Powell tying voting machines to fraud, Smith claimed, with Trump likening the fraud claims to “Star Trek.”
Key Background
Figures on the right including Powell and attorney Rudy Giuliani made broad claims tying voting machines to fraud in the aftermath of the 2020 election, despite those claims being false with no credible evidence to back them up. Dominion and Smartmatic then filed a series of lawsuits taking aim at companies and individuals who spread the false claims, seeking damages upward of $1 billion. In addition to Newsmax and Fox News, the voting companies also brought litigation against One America News Network, Powell, Giuliani, former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. None of the cases brought by Dominion and Smartmatic directly have yet gone to trial: Dominion’s cases against Fox and Newsmax and Smartmatic’s cases against Newsmax and OANN were all settled before trials could begin. Ex-Dominion employee Eric Coomer’s defamation case against Lindell, which focused on defamatory claims made about Coomer specifically, did go to trial earlier this summer, with a jury ruling in June that Lindell is liable for defamation and must pay Coomer $2.3 million in damages.
Which Dominion And Smartmatic Cases Are Still Moving Forward?
Dominion’s cases against OANN, Giuliani, Powell, Lindell and Byrne are all still moving forward, with Giuliani’s case resuming last fall after being briefly put on hold during the ex-Trump attorney’s bankruptcy proceedings. Smartmatic is also still suing Giuliani, Lindell and Powell, as well as Fox News. That dispute could go to trial next year, should a settlement not be reached first.
Further Reading
ForbesTrump Announces ‘Movement’ Against Mail-In Ballots ‘Scam’By Sara Dorn
Read More
Alison Durkee, Forbes Staff