Embattled Fox News Agrees to Hand Over Extra Documents to Smartmatic in $2.7 Billion Defamation Case
April 27 2023, Published 12:55 p.m. ET
Embattled network Fox News has agreed to hand over additional documents found in the Dominion Voting Systems case to Smartmatic for their lawsuit against the network, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Smartmatic's lawsuit marked the second defamation case from a voting systems company the conservative network faced over claims made on its program in regard to the 2020 presidential election.
The move came followed shortly after Fox News settled with Dominion for $787.5 million — and the ousting of longtime host Tucker Carlson, who had derogatory and explicit messages about network executives exposed during discovery.
Smartmatic accused Fox News of giving free rein to election deniers Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani, both attorneys for ex-president Donald Trump, to spread malicious claims about the integrity of voting results from 2020 — and their software.
Smartmatic sought $2 billion from the network with its lawsuit.
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Rudy Giuliani
While the Smartmatic trial will not go to trial anytime in the foreseeable future, the network already lost its first court battle in the case.
After attempting to have the case tossed out, the court's decision to proceed forward with discovery was a blow to the already hurting network.
"We will produce the materials as quickly as we are able to," Fox News attorney Winn Allen said during a hearing, according to CNN.
Sidney Powell
Despite the controversial material unearthed in Dominion Voting Systems case, the network said in a statement that it was prepared for the next trial.
"We will be ready to defend this case surrounding extremely newsworthy events when it goes to trial, likely in 2025," a spokesperson for Fox News said on Smartmatic's defamation lawsuit.
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The network also hit back at Smartmatic and claimed that the accusations made against Fox News was "disconnected from reality."
"As a report prepared by our financial expert shows, Smartmatic’s damages claims are implausible, disconnected from reality, and on its face intended to chill First Amendment freedoms," the spokesperson added.
While the network grappled with yet another defamation lawsuit, there was still a question of who would fill their primetime slot in the wake of Carlson's ousting — and if any additional materials turned over to Smartmatic's legal team could pose additional threats to network talent.
