Newsmax, a conservative news outlet beloved by many evangelicals, is scheduled to begin defending itself today in a jury trial over a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems.
Earlier this month, a judge found there was solid evidence that Newsmax spread falsehoods and made defamatory statements about Dominion in relation to the 2020 presidential election. The jury trial will determine if Newsmax did so intentionally and how much it should pay Dominion in damages, Reuters reported.
The trial is the latest chapter in the long-running saga of dozens of slow-moving defamation cases filed against conservative outlets and Christian influencers who embraced Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen 2020 election and falsely blamed voting technology companies for effecting the steal.
The stakes are huge. Fox News already agreed to pay Dominion an unprecedented $787.5 million to settle a defamation case in 2023. The settlement was reached the day the trial was to begin.
Smartmatic, another voting company, has filed numerous defamation suits against Fox News and others. Newsmax paid $40 million to settle with Smartmatic in 2024. Newsmax recently issued its first public stock offering so it could raise funds for settlement payments, The New York Times reported.
Another conservative outlet, One America News Network, settled with Smartmatic for an undisclosed amount.
At least 15 additional defamation suits have been filed by Eric Coomer, a Dominion executive....
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