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Newsmax Pays $40M to Settle 2020 Election Defamation Suit

The network had argued it had a First Amendment right to report President Trump’s fraud claims.

Newsmax quietly paid $40 million to settle Smartmatic’s defamation lawsuit over false claims that the voting machine company helped rig the 2020 election for Joe Biden, according to a regulatory filing. The settlement, finalized last year but only now disclosed in a Newsmax investor document, resolves accusations that the right-wing network pushed baseless allegations that Smartmatic’s voting machines were hacked and the company financed by dictators. The case mirrored the massive legal battles facing Fox News, which is still fighting a $2.7 billion suit from Smartmatic after already shelling out $787.5 million to Dominion Voting Systems in a settlement last year. While Newsmax has argued it was simply reporting President Donald Trump’s election fraud allegations under the First Amendment, the network ultimately opted to settle—for far less than the $400 million to $600 million that it said Smartmatic originally sought. Smartmatic is now gearing up for trial against Fox News.

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