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(CNN) — The pro-Trump channel Newsmax defamed Dominion Voting Systems by falsely accusing the company of rigging the 2020 presidential election, a Delaware judge ruled Wednesday.
But it’ll be up to a jury to decide whether Newsmax intentionally smeared Dominion with “actual malice” and must pay millions of dollars in damages.
Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis handed down several key pretrial rulings in Dominion’s favor, weeks before a jury trial that is scheduled to begin on April 28.
An out-of-court settlement is always possible. That’s how Dominion’s similar lawsuit against Fox News ended in 2023, with a record-breaking $787 million agreement.
As he did in the Fox News case, Davis ruled that all of the allegations that Dominion committed massive electoral fraud in 2020 were false. He also concluded that these allegations weren’t presented on Newsmax as matters of “pure opinion” from hosts or guests, which would’ve given them more protections under the First Amendment.
The judge’s conclusions that all of Newsmax’s election-related broadcasts in the lawsuit were defamatory is a victory for Dominion’, but that doesn’t mean Newsmax has been found liable for violating defamation laws. That question will go to the jury.
“We are gratified by the Court’s thorough ruling,” a Dominion spokesperson said.
The right-wing network denies wrongdoing and has repeatedly pointed out that it ran a “clarification” segment in December 2020, and posted an article online, saying it didn’t have evidence that Dominion manipulated any votes.
“Newsmax covered both sides of the 2020 election dispute fairly,” a Newsmax spokesperson said in a statement. “At no time did it defame Dominion. This case represents a serious threat to free speech and a free press and Newsmax will defend itself vigorously at trial.”
Taken together, the rulings increase the chances that Newsmax might feel compelled to settle the case instead of rolling its dice with a jury that might award significant damages to Dominion. The voting technology company is asking for more than $1 billion, which Newsmax’s lawyers have argued is a massively inflated figure detached from real losses.
The case stems from false on-air allegations from Newsmax hosts and guests that Dominion colluded with Democratic operatives to manipulate millions of votes in 2020, flipping votes from President Donald Trump in order to elect then-candidate Joe Biden.
Newsmax, which is led by Trump ally Chris Ruddy, launched its initial public offering last week. If a trial does happen, Ruddy and some of the network’s TV hosts, like Greg Kelly and Chris Salcedo, are expected to testify. Newsmax agreed in September to pay $40 million to settle a lawsuit from Smartmatic, another voting company that was similarly smeared.
This story has been updated with additional details and comment from Newsmax.
The-CNN-Wire
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