Fox installs Dominion suit, but Smartmatic holster and more loom

On Tuesday, Fox News hastily agreed to pay $787.5 million to resolve a libel suit brought by Dominion Voting Systems – among the largest settlements ever in a libel case – just hours after the jury was selected. of the trial. In addition to the huge financial settlement, Fox admitted that “some claims” he made about Dominion were false.

By settling with Dominion, the network avoided the possible embarrassment of a lawsuit that could have exposed its inner workings. Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old founder of Fox News, and Fox host Tucker Carlson were potential witnesses.

Dominion sued the cable news network two years ago after it aired stories that falsely claimed that Dominion’s voting machines were susceptible to hacking and reversed Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s votes that had been cast for Donald J. Trump, who was president.

But the settlement with Dominion isn’t the only legal action some news outlets are facing after making false claims about the 2020 election.

In 2021, the right-wing news outlet Newsmax formally apologized for airing false allegations that a Dominion employee rigged voting machines. In a statement on its website, Newsmax said it found “no evidence” that Dominion employee Eric Coomer tampered with voting machines in an effort to sabotage Mr Trump’s re-election bid.

“On behalf of Newsmax, we would like to apologize for any harm our report into the allegations against Dr. Coomer may have caused Dr. Coomer and his family,” the statement read.

Dominion also sued Mike Lindell, the chief executive of MyPillow and a staunch supporter of the former president, and two of Mr. Trump’s lawyers, Sidney Powell and Rudy W. Giuliani, for their baseless allegations of voter fraud. In 2021, a federal judge declined to dismiss the charges against them. And in October, the Supreme Court declined to review Mr. Lindell’s attempt to push back his lawsuit. This month, he told the New York Times, “I will never, ever, ever back down. The lawsuits are ongoing.

Smartmatic vs. Fox News

In 2021, Fox News was also sued by Smartmatic, which provided voting technology in Los Angeles County for the 2020 election. In its lawsuit, Smartmatic wrote, “Fox joined in the conspiracy to defame and to disparage Smartmatic and its election technology and software,” adding, “The story led a mob to attack the United States Capitol. The lawsuit, filed in New York State Supreme Court, seeks at least $2.7 billion in damages.

In February, a New York appeals court denied Fox’s request to dismiss the case, and a New York judge ruled last month that the case could proceed. A trial date has not been set.

Smartmatic versus Newsmax

Smartmatic also filed a defamation lawsuit against Newsmax, accusing it of spreading lies about the company. Judge Eric M. Davis, who was also assigned to the Fox-Dominion trial, will preside. In February, Newsmax lost its attempt to end litigation, and Judge Davis let the case proceed.

Smartmatic vs. One America News

In 2021, Smartmatic also sued One America News Network, accusing the news agency of spreading misinformation about the 2020 election even after the company warned it to stop. In June, a judge denied a request to dismiss the lawsuit.

Lou Dobbs

This month — days before jury selection for the Dominion case began — Fox News and longtime former Fox Business host and staunch Trump supporter Lou Dobbs settled a libel case with Majed Khalil. , a Venezuelan businessman. Mr. Dobbs and Ms. Powell, a regular Fox News guest, falsely claimed on air and in related Twitter posts that Mr. Khalil had been part of a plot to reverse the votes. One of the tweets said he was “the efficient ‘COO’ of the electoral project”. Fox canceled Mr. Dobbs’ show in February 2021.