Newsmax refutes accusation of erasing proof in 2020 defamation suit following Smartmatic's claim of concealment.
Previously, lawyers representing Smartmatic alleged that Newsmax had hidden over 200,000 documents and made false statements to the court, claiming they'd turned over all necessary materials prior to the conclusion of the discovery process.
However, Newsmax has since refuted these claims in court filings, stating that they never intended to conceal any documents and most of the supposedly new materials were in fact duplicate copies of older files. The network called the accusations "implausible inferences" and "nothing more than speculation."
After the 2020 elections, Newsmax and other conservative media outlets provided a platform for the unfounded allegation that electronic voting machines had switched votes from then-President Donald Trump to Joe Biden, which cost Trump the election. No evidence has ever been found to support this theory.
In the months that followed, Smartmatic initiated a defamation lawsuit against Newsmax and other right-wing figures, including Fox News, Rudy Giuliani, and Mike Lindell. This ongoing lawsuit has been going on for over two years, with the trial scheduled to take place in September at the Delaware Superior Court, unless an out-of-court settlement is reached.
According to Smartmatic's court documents, some of the 200,000 documents include texts between Newsmax executives discussing "the decision not to call the (2020) election." Other parts of the court papers are blacked out, but it seems Newsmax also turned over new emails where senior executives criticized their own shows and reporters.
In addition, Smartmatic accused Newsmax of intentionally "destroy[ing] relevant evidence" by deleting texts and emails from top officials. They claimed this "cover-up" was "carefully calculated" to prevent Smartmatic from accessing the documents. It was also alleged that Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy allowed his own 2020 texts to be deleted, which should have been saved.
"Repeatedly, Newsmax has kept documents showing its actual malice and bad motive out of Smartmatic's hands," Smartmatic wrote in a public court filing. "These were not isolated mistakes. This was by design. Newsmax has intentionally destroyed and concealed crucial evidence that is damaging to its case."
In their response on Friday, Newsmax countered by saying that this entire dispute over the newly found files is simply "an attempt (by Smartmatic) to manufacture an issue where none exists."
"Many of the documents Smartmatic claims were ‘newly produced’ and bear on ‘key issues’ were already in Smartmatic’s possession in duplicate or near duplicate versions, having been produced by Newsmax," the network declared in their newly released filings.
Newsmax's legal team explained that they had switched legal teams in January and upon reviewing their previous document productions, they discovered that some documents had not been submitted. These issues were promptly resolved "as soon as Newsmax discovered this."
If a settlement cannot be reached, the trial regarding the false claims of vote-rigging in the 2020 election is scheduled to coincide with the 2024 election season, amid ongoing doubts among leading Republicans about whether Biden's victory was legitimate.
Fox News previously paid a whopping $787 million to Dominion Voting Systems to settle a case involving similar pre-election lies broadcast on their network.
Newsmax, owned by Chris Ruddy, may not be as influential as Fox in the conservative media space, but it still maintains a significant presence in the pro-Trump media network, with former Fox personalities like Eric Bolling and Greta Van Susteren, controversial Trump White House official Sebastian Gorka, and Clinton ally-turned-foe Dick Morris part of its lineup.
A trial could put Newsmax's financial future at risk, but there is one key difference between the Newsmax and Fox cases. While Fox aired an on-air segment and published an article in 2020 claiming there was "no evidence" that Smartmatic or Dominion ever "manipulated votes in the 2020 election," Newsmax faced a separate defamation suit from Dominion. Newsmax denies any wrongdoing and maintains that its 2020 election coverage is protected by the First Amendment.
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In the ongoing defamation lawsuit against Newsmax, Smartmatic accused the media outlet of withholding business-related documents, such as texts discussing the 2020 election results. Newsmax's business strategies and coverage have been under scrutiny due to these allegations.
Source: edition.cnn.com
