A Delaware judge, once again, has found that a conservative news outlet broadcast false and defamatory claims about the role a voting technology company played in the 2020 presidential election. This time, that network is Newsmax, Fox News' upstart rival, which is fresh off a successful initial public offering.
Following Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump that November, Trump's allies and supporters took to right-wing media to accuse Dominion Voting Systems of rigging the vote to help Biden.
In his opinion, Judge Eric M. Davis says Dominion "presents clear and convincing evidence" that shows Newsmax broadcast segments with inaccurate information that "would likely cause reasonable viewers to think significantly less favorably about Dominion than if the viewers knew the truth." He also noted that Newsmax's "clarification" posted in mid-December 2020 about a lack of evidence of voter fraud showed that Newsmax "acknowledged the falsity" of several lies regarding Dominion and the election.
If the lawsuit heads to trial as scheduled later this month, the jury will be asked to decide whether to award damages and how much, and whether the broadcasts were aired with "actual malice," which means knowledge of falsity or disregard for the truth.
Wednesday's ruling was another win for Dominion from the same judge who presided over a similar defamation lawsuit the voting tech company brought against Fox News. That case, also linked to false claims of rigging the 2020 election, resulted in a $787.5 million settlement on the eve of trial.
In a statement, Newsmax said it covered the issue fairly and never defamed Dominion.
"This case represents a serious threat to free speech and a free press and Newsmax will defend itself vigorously at trial," the statement read.
The ruling caps an extraordinary rollercoaster for Newsmax and its founder and CEO, Chris Ruddy. On March 21, Ruddy was sitting front row in the Delaware courtroom, listening intently as Dominion lawyers tried to personally hold him and other key executives liable in the case.
Just a few days later, Ruddy would be on the phone with President Trump, drumming up excitement for Newsmax's impending public launch.
By the following week, Ruddy would reportedly become a billionaire, as Newsmax stocks soared over 1,000% in the hours after its initial public offering. Ruddy and his team, joined by other notable figures like Trump's former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, even rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange (albeit on the same day stocks plunged the farthest since the beginning of the Covid pandemic). Within a week of going public, Newsmax also announced a standby purchase agreement with Yorkville Advisors for up to $1.2 billion.
The company's finances may be facing another rollercoaster as Dominion's $1.6 billion suit moves forward to trial. Newsmax is also facing a June 30 deadline for the second half of a $40 million settlement with Smartmatic USA, another voting systems company that also alleged the cable news channel had defamed it in the wake of the 2020 election.
In Dominion's case against Newsmax, which is set to go to trial on April 28, Davis has ruled that the at-issue broadcasts falsely accused Dominion of being affiliated with the late Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez and participating in crimes such as rigging elections in the U.S. and abroad. Dominion's lawyers have argued in court that the company is facing a "slow death" as new customers dry up and contracts aren't renewed.
The jury will be asked to decide what, if any, damages Dominion absorbed because of the Newsmax broadcasts and whether those segments were broadcast with "reckless disregard" for the truth.
Davis has also allowed Dominion to add Newsmax Broadcasting LLC, a subsidiary of Newsmax Media, Inc., to the lawsuit. In an "11th hour" legal strategy, the Newsmax legal team attempted to argue — supported by a late affidavit provided by Ruddy — that Dominion was suing the wrong company altogether.
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