The voting company Smartmatic filed a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News’ parent company Fox Corporation, as well as Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and Trump ally Sidney Powell on Thursday.
Smartmatic accused the defendants of participating in a cynical campaign to capitalize off the election, asserting that each privately knew that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had won the election. The defendants, Smartmatic alleged, used the election loss as an opportunity to smear the voting company for profit.
“In their story, Smartmatic was a Venezuelan company under the control of corrupt dictators from socialist countries,” the company’s complaint says. “In their story, Smartmatic’s election technology and software were used in many of the states with close outcomes. And, in their story, Smartmatic was responsible for stealing the 2020 election by switching and altering votes to rig the election for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.”
“Defendants’ story was a lie. All of it. And they knew it. But, it was a story that sold. Millions of individuals who saw and read Defendants’ reports believed them to be true,” it continues. “Smartmatic and its officers began to receive hate mail and death threats. Smartmatic’s clients and potential clients began to panic. The company’s reputation for providing transparent, auditable, and secure election technology and software was irreparably harmed. Overnight, Smartmatic went from an under-the-radar election technology and software company with a track record of success to the villain in Defendants’ disinformation campaign.”
“Smartmatic’s loss was Defendants’ gain. Fox News used the story to preserve its grip on viewers and readers and curry favors with the outgoing administration – one of their anchors was even able to get a pardon for her ex-husband,” the complaint says. “Ms. Powell used the story to raise money and enrich herself. Mr. Giuliani used the story to guarantee himself a flow of funds from the sitting President and to sell products. Defendants knew the story could not change the outcome of the election. It could, and did, make them money.”
Fox News rebutted the voting company’s claims, telling The New York Times through a spokeswoman: “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.”
Powell also told the Times that the claims outlined in the lawsuit are “just another political maneuver motivated by the radical left that has no basis in fact or law.”
Smartmatic’s lawsuit comes on the heels of a pair of election-related lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems against Giuliani and Powell. In the suit filed against Giuliani, Dominion suggested that it may continue to take legal action against Fox News and a host of other companies and personalities.
“As a result of the defamatory falsehoods peddled by Giuliani—in concert with Sidney Powell, Russell Ramsland, L. Lin Wood, Mike Lindell, Patrick Byrne, Lou Dobbs, Fox News, Fox Business, Newsmax, One America News Network (“OAN”), The Epoch Times, and other like-minded allies and media outlets determined to promote a false preconceived narrative about the 2020 election — Dominion’s founder and employees have been harassed and have received death threats, and Dominion has suffered unprecedented and irreparable harm,” the lawsuit filed last month says.