Pro-Trump network OAN and Smartmatic settle 2020 election defamation case

Pro-Trump network OAN and Smartmatic settle 2020 election defamation case

Voting technology company Smartmatic and far-right network One America News said Tuesday that they have settled a defamation lawsuit stemming from the outlet’s lies about the 2020 election.

“The case was settled pursuant to a confidential agreement,” OAN attorney Chip Babcock told CNN.

Both sides declined to share details about the settlement.

The case against OAN is one of a series of suits filed against right-wing channels after the election. After the 2020 presidential contest, pro-Donald Trump outlets falsely spread lies suggesting President Joe Biden was not validly elected president.

Smartmatic filed its lawsuit against OAN in 2021, alleging that the right-wing conspiracy network “victimized” the company and spread lies about its role in the 2020 election to “increase viewership and revenue.”

The development comes a year after Fox News reached a massive settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, another voting technology company similarly defamed in 2020. Fox News paid more than $787 million to settle the suit, making it the largest publicly known defamation settlement in history USA.

Smartmatic is still pending a lawsuit against Fox News, the smaller conservative outlet Newsmax, and several pro-Trump figures who also reject lies about the election.

OAN has established itself as perhaps the most extreme of the pro-Trump cable news outlets. And its reporters sometimes cross the line into right-wing politics.

The little-noticed network regularly gives airtime to baseless conspiracy theories supporting Trump, especially regarding the 2020 election.

The channel worked closely with Russian operatives on a propaganda-style documentary during Trump’s first impeachment in 2019 over his alleged pressure on Ukraine to investigate his political rivals. One of his reporters, who is also a lawyer, is also working with Trump’s legal team to subvert the results of the 2020 election.

OAN settled a defamation suit in September with former Dominion executive Eric Coomer, whose case revealed how the network worked with former Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell and others to lie about the election.

DirecTV has dropped the rightmost network from its lineup in 2022, dealing a major blow to the channel, hitting the network’s ratings and revenue.

In its lawsuit, Smartmatic claims OAN hosts and guests made dozens of false claims about the company’s role in the 2020 election. Personalities at the network have repeatedly said Smartmatic software is used in voting machines “in 30 states,” including battleground states like Michigan and Pennsylvania. . In reality, the Smartmatic software is only used in one California county.

Another person at OAN claimed that Smartmatic’s software was “used to switch votes from President Trump to Joe Biden,” and said the company engaged in digital “ballot stuffing” to help Biden win. The OAN personality also presents the truth about Smartmatic’s past relationship with Venezuela to weave the baseless narrative that, “Maduro’s allies have interfered in the recent US elections through a company called Smartmatic.”

The case is still in the discovery phase when a settlement is reached.

The unveiling is scheduled to take place Tuesday, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The person said depositions were scheduled soon for OAN owner Robert Herring, a wealthy California businessman, and his son Charles Herring, the network’s president — but that won’t happen now that the case is over.

Both Herrings were also involved in the scandal in the lawsuit. Smartmatic alleged in court filings that the couple may have “engaged in criminal activity” by obtaining and sharing internal passwords of Smartmatic employees. The OAN denied the allegations, and there was never a judicial finding of wrongdoing against the Herrings.

Although the Smartmatic case is settled, OAN is still facing a separate defamation suit brought by Dominion regarding the promotion of 2020 election lies.