WASHINGTON :Right-wing US television network Newsmax Media Inc. on Monday countersued Smartmatic Corp, an election security firm that says it was defamed by Newsmax’s coverage of the 2020 presidential election.
Smartmatic sued Newsmax in November for amplifying false claims that Smartmatic voting machines rigged the election against then-President Donald Trump, who persists in falsely claiming his defeat was the result of fraud.
In a response filed in Delaware state court, San Diego-based Newsmax denied it defamed Smartmatic and claimed that the election software firm was trying to censor free speech and intimidate a critic.
“The action brought by Smartmatic against Newsmax arises from and is because of Newsmax’s exercise of its right to free speech in connection with issues of public interest,” Newsmax’s lawyers said in the filing.
A Smartmatic spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Newsmax’s counter-claim has little merit, said Jessica Levinson, a law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles who is not involved in the case.
Smartmatic has a strong defamation case that should proceed toward trial, Levinson added.
“The potential irony here is that if anyone is attempting to chill free speech, one could argue it’s Newsmax,” Levinson said.
Smartmatic, whose US headquarters is in Boca Raton, Florida, in February has also sued Fox News, a subsidiary of Fox Corp, and One America News Network over their election coverage.
Another voting machine firm, Dominion Voting Systems Corp, has brought similar lawsuits. Like Smartmatic, Dominion is seeking billions of dollars in damages.
The networks have said they reported on matters of public concern and their reporting is protected by the free speech protections in the US Constitution’s First Amendment.
Fox News has asked a state court judge in New York to dismiss Smartmatic’s lawsuit. The judge has not yet ruled on the request.
Newsmax counter-sues Smartmatic, widening fight over US election fraud claims
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Newsmax counter-sues Smartmatic, widening fight over US election fraud claims
- Fox News has asked a state court judge in New York to dismiss Smartmatic’s lawsuit
Hezbollah says Israeli strike killed Al-Manar TV presenter in southern Lebanon
- The Israeli military said later on Monday that Al-Din was a Hezbollah militant who recently worked to rehabilitate the group’s artillery capabilities in southern Lebanon
The Lebanese armed group Hezbollah said on Monday that an Israeli strike in the country’s south killed TV presenter Ali Nour Al-Din, who worked for the group’s affiliated Al-Manar television station.
The group said the killing portends “the danger of Israel’s extended escalations (in Lebanon) to include the media community.”
The Israeli military said later on Monday that Al-Din was a Hezbollah militant who recently worked to rehabilitate the group’s artillery capabilities in southern Lebanon.
Israel and Lebanon agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire in 2024 to end more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which culminated in Israeli strikes that severely weakened the Iran-backed militant group. Since then, the sides have traded accusations over ceasefire violations.
Lebanon has faced growing pressure from the US and Israel to disarm Hezbollah. The group’s leaders fear that Israel could dramatically escalate strikes across the battered country, aiming to push the Lebanese government for quicker action to confiscate Hezbollah’s arsenal.
