Newsmax has agreed to pay $67 million to settle a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems.
Dominion’s lawsuit stemmed from the network’s false claims that its voting technology was used to rig the results of the 2020 presidential election.
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Per a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Newsmax will pay out the settlement in three installments over the next two years, including a $27 million payment already made on Aug. 15, $20 million on or before Jan. 15, 2026, and $20 million on or before Jan. 15, 2027.
“We are pleased to have settled this matter,” a Dominion spokesperson told TheWrap.
In April, Judge Eric Davis ruled that Newsmax ran more than two dozen defamatory and false statements about Dominion following the 2020 election. However, Davis said that a jury would need to decide on whether Newsmax was liable for actual malice and whether Dominion could collect punitive damages. A trial was expected to start later this year.
In a statement, Newsmax said it believed it was “critically important for the American people to hear both sides of the election disputes that arose in 2020,” adding that it stands by its coverage as “fair, balanced and conducted within professional standards of journalism.”
The network also said Davis “ruled in ways that strongly favored the plaintiffs and limited Newsmax’s ability to defend itself” and that the Delaware Court “effectively enforced a confiscation of our property because our reporting was not always sympathetic to Joe Biden.”
Additionally, it argued that actions taken against Newsmax — and Fox News who settled a separate lawsuit with Dominion for $787.5 million — represent a “direct attack on free speech and a free press” and that the judiciary’s “willingness to punish news organizations for reporting on matters of urgent national debate undermines the role of the press in a free society.”
“With these matters resolved, Newsmax is positioned to continue its mission: delivering accurate reporting, fostering vigorous debate and ensuring Americans have access to diverse viewpoints,” the statement concluded. “At a time when public trust in media is at historic lows, our commitment to balanced reporting, coverage of critical issues facing Americans and open dialogue has never been more important.”
In addition to Dominion, Newsmax also agreed to pay $40 million to settle another defamation lawsuit from the election voting systems company, Smartmatic, last year.
Shares of Newsmax, which are up 5.5% during Monday’s trading session, are down 84.7% year to date.
The post Newsmax Settles Dominion Voting Systems Lawsuit for $67 Million appeared first on TheWrap.
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