Smartmatic Corp.’s defamation suit against Newsmax Media Inc. over false reports that the voting technology company rigged the 2020 presidential election should be dismissed because there was “nothing inherently incredible” about the theory, the network told a judge.
At issue is the conservative media outlet’s reporting on claims made after the election by former President Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani and former Trump campaign attorney Sidney Powell, among others. They asserted on Newsmax and other conservative outlets that Smartmatic had ties to Venezuela’s socialist leaders, including the late former President Hugo Chavez, and that its software was installed on Dominion Voting Systems Inc. machines to flip millions of votes from Trump to Joe Biden in swing states.
In addition, they claimed without evidence that the machines had been hacked by communist countries conspiring with Democrats.
In a June 10 filing in state court in Delaware, Newsmax said the theory could have been seen as reasonable at the time because Smartmatic was formed by three Venezuelans and “had strong connections to the Venezuela government controlled by Hugo Chavez.” Newsmax argued Smartmatic has been “the subject of widespread concerns about foreign influence” and that it “sold off a subsidiary rather than face additional scrutiny.”
Smartmatic, whose machines were used only in Los Angeles County during the 2020 election, has denied ever having corrupt ties to Venezuela.
Newsmax also claimed that Smartmatic had failed to take enough steps during the postelection coverage period to alert the news outlet to the falsity of the statements.
Smartmatic declined to comment on the filing, though a spokesperson pointed out fact-checking remarks on the company’s website.
“We do not have any alliances or relationships with any politician, political party, PAC, or government,” according to its website. “Smartmatic’s founders and employees adhere to a strict ethics code that, among other things, prohibits them from making political donations.”
On Monday, the vote-rigging claims figured in the second congressional hearing on the January 2021 Capitol riot, which was triggered by Trump’s false claims that the election was stolen. Trump’s former Attorney General Bill Barr said in recorded testimony that he feared Trump’s embrace of the Dominion-Smartmatic conspiracy theory was a sign he had become “detached from reality.”
The case is Smartmatic USA Corp. v. Newsmax Media Inc., N21C-11-028, Superior Court of the State of Delaware (Wilmington).
