Fox, Three News Hosts, Trump Lawyers Hit With $2.7B Defamation Lawsuit

International elections equipment company Smartmatic has sued Fox Corp, three Fox News hosts, and Donald Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell for $2.7 billion and punitive damages.

Maria Bartiromo, Lou Dobbs and Jeanine Pirro are the Fox News hosts named in the suit, which was filed in in New York State Court in Manhattan on Thursday.

The suit charges that Smartmatic’s business has been harmed by a disinformation campaign in which Fox News hosts, during November and December 2020, falsely stated and implied that the company had rigged the U.S. presidential election. It alleges that the network aired more than 100 false statements about the company.

Fox “repeated the false claims and accusations on air and in articles and social media postings that were together seen by millions in the US and even more around the world,” Smartmatic charges in a post on its website. 

“Fox is responsible for this disinformation campaign, which has damaged democracy worldwide and irreparably harmed Smartmatic and other stakeholders who contribute to modern elections,” Smartmatic CEO Antonio Mugica states in the post.

“The Earth is round,” states the lawsuit’s opening paragraph. “Two plus two equals four. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the 2020 election for President and Vice President of the United States. The election was not stolen, rigged, or fixed. These are facts”…

Fox and those named in the suit “have always known these facts…," it continues. "Without any true villain, [they] invented one. In their story, Smartmatic was a Venezuelan company under the control of corrupt dictators from socialist countries.”

In response to the lawsuit, Fox issued a statement saying that Fox News Media “is committed to providing the full context of every story with in-depth reporting and clear opinion. We are proud of our 2020 election coverage and will vigorously defend this meritless lawsuit in court.”

Much of Smartmatic’s election equipment and services business is in international markets, and according to the company, only Los Angeles County used its services in the 2020 election (and all general U.S. elections since 2016).

On a FAQ page on its site, Smartmatic states that it believes that “the defendants exceeded the boundaries of [First Amendment] protected speech,” and that it is “determined to realize the goals as stated in the lawsuit – namely appropriate compensatory damages, punitive damages, and full and complete retraction of the disinformation on all of Fox’s platforms.”

The company, which also sent letters demanding retractions to right-wing outlets OANN and Newsmax, says it is “continuing to analyze its claims” against those networks.

Dominion Voting Systems has also sued Guiliani and Powell for $1.3 billion each, and one of its attorneys, Tom Clare, stated in January that the company plans more suits, notes NBC News.

1 comment about "Fox, Three News Hosts, Trump Lawyers Hit With $2.7B Defamation Lawsuit".
Check to receive email when comments are posted.
  1. Ben B from Retired, February 5, 2021 at 7:20 p.m.

    This lawsuit is baseless and without merit, Fox News should counter sue Smartmatic for a billion dollars since what there doing is slander, smearing & defaming Fox News's good name that isn't right plus Smartmatic CEO clearly doesn't know the law or what liable is either that can be proven in a court of law as well. And the company isn't going to get a billion dollars anyway. 

Next story loading loading..