A Delaware judge ruled Wednesday that the conservative news outlet Newsmax Media defamed Dominion Voting Systems through its false reporting, which accused the voting machine company of rigging the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Dominion is seeking $1.6 billion in damages to be determined by a Delaware jury in a trial scheduled to begin on April 28 in Wilmington, said Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis.
The Denver-based company sued Newsmax in 2021 for airing false claims that Dominion machines had stolen the election from President Donald Trump, who was defeated by President Joe Biden.
Trump and his allies spent weeks after the vote making wild claims that the election was stolen, without ever presenting any credible evidence of fraud. President Trump still baselessly insists he won in 2020.
In a lengthy ruling, Judge Davis stated that Newsmax's assertions in its broadcasts — that Dominion aided in election fraud, manipulated votes using an algorithm, was linked to Venezuela, paid kickbacks to government officials, and was connected to voting irregularities in Dallas — were false and amounted to defamation.
Davis said that, in addition to damages, jurors must determine if Dominion is entitled to punitive damages, which can be awarded if Newsmax’s conduct is deemed “willful and wanton.”
A Dominion representative said in a statement to Reuters that the company was gratified by the court's thorough ruling.
A statement from Newsmax provided to The Independent said: “Newsmax covered both sides of the 2020 election dispute fairly. At no time did it defame Dominion. This case represents a serious threat to free speech and a free press and Newsmax will defend itself vigorously at trial.”
Shares of Newsmax fell more than 10% in late Wednesday trading, while broader stock indexes posted their biggest rally in years after President Trump announced a 90-day pause in tariffs against U.S. trading partners. At the close of trading, it stood at $34.71.
The company only debuted on the New York Stock Exchange last month after an initial public offering that raised $75 million. When the stock began trading, its value surged to more than $220 a share from an initial price of $10 before dramatically falling back.
Last year, Newsmax agreed to pay $40 million to settle defamation allegations made by Smartmatic, a voting machine company that also filed similar allegations. The company also had to issue a “five-year cash exercise warrant” for the voting machine firm to purchase 2,000 shares of preferred stock in the conservative cable channel.
Details of the settlement were revealed in the Newsmax investment prospectus, which also noted that there was an inherent risk to investors due to the ongoing defamation case brought by Dominion.
Dominion settled a similar defamation lawsuit with Fox News in 2023 for $787.5 million, just as the case was about to go to trial two years ago in front of the same judge. Smartmatic has also taken legal action against Fox News.
With reporting from Reuters
