Newsmax Paid Smartmatic $40 Million in Previously Sealed Defamation Lawsuit Settlement

Right wing news network Newsmax reached a confidential settlement with voting tech firm Smartmatic in September 2024, the full amount of which was revealed this week in a public regulatory filing.

Newsmax revealed in the filing that they paid $40 million to Smartmatic as well as offered the firm 2,000 shares of preferred stock. Smartmatic initially sued over Newsmax’s promotion of claims that the company was involved in rigging the 2020 presidential election. The firm only provided their services in Los Angeles County.

“We entered into a confidential settlement with Newsmax in September to resolve litigation and cannot comment further on the details,” J. Erik Connolly, Smartmatic external legal counsel, told The Independent in a statement. “We are now focused on our litigation against Fox News for defaming Smartmatic and knowingly lying to their viewers about Smartmatic’s role in the 2020 election. We look forward to presenting our evidence to a jury and finally having the opportunity to hold Fox accountable for its harmful actions.”

Smartmatic settled a similar defamation claim against One America News Network in April, and its lawsuit against Fox Corp. and Fox News is scheduled for trial in 2025.

While the $40 million number is quite a sum for Smartmatic, it is eclipsed by the amount paid to Dominion Voting Systems by Fox News when they settled a similar defamation suit in April 2023. That settlement came to $787.5 million and a concession of “false” claims, just as the first day of the scheduled trial was set to begin.

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