A Newsmax booth broadcasts as attendees try out the guns on display at the National Rifle Association (NRA) annual convention in Houston, Texas, U.S. May 29, 2022. Picture taken through glass.
Callaghan O’hare | Reuters
Conservative news outlet Newsmax Media defamed Dominion Voting Systems with its false reporting accusing the voting machine company of rigging the 2020 U.S. presidential election, a Delaware judge ruled Wednesday.
Dominion is seeking $1.6 billion in damages to be determined by a Delaware jury in a trial scheduled to begin on April 28 in Wilmington, said Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis.
A Dominion representative said in a statement that the company was gratified by the court’s thorough ruling.
A Newsmax representative did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Shares of Newsmax were down more than 10% in late Wednesday trading while broader stock indexes were posting their biggest rally in years. The company made a stellar debut on the New York Stock Exchange after an initial public offering that raised $75 million last month.
Denver-based Dominion sued Newsmax in 2021 for broadcasting false claims that Dominion machines stole the election from President Donald Trump, who was defeated by President Joe Biden.
Trump spent weeks after the vote claiming the election had been stolen without ever presenting credible evidence of fraud.
Davis said that Newsmax statements that Dominion aided in election fraud, manipulated votes using an algorithm, was linked to Venezuela, paid kickbacks to government officials and was tied to voting irregularities in Dallas were false and amounted to defamation.
Davis said in addition to damages, jurors must decide if Dominion is entitled to punitive damages, which can be awarded if Newsmax conduct was “willful and wanton.”
Newsmax’s stock began publicly trading last month and surged to more than $200 a share from its debut at $10 per share. It closed at $34.71 on Wednesday.
Newsmax last year agreed to pay $40 million to settle defamation allegations brought by Smartmatic, a voting machine company that brought similar defamation allegations.
Dominion settled a similar defamation lawsuit against Fox News in 2023 for $787.5 million just as the case was about to go to trial two years ago in front of the same judge.
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