A voting machine company at the heart of conspiracy theories about the 2020 election accused the Justice Department on Tuesday of bringing a criminal case against it to further President Donald Trump’s baseless claims about that vote.
The parent company of London-based Smartmatic asked a federal judge to dismiss foreign bribery charges filed against it last year, alleging they amounted to little more than a vindictive and selective prosecution. The company also contends that Fox News and others Smartmatic has sued for defamation for statements about the firm’s voting machines are exploiting the criminal case in their defense.
While such defense claims are notoriously difficult to win in court, they have gained traction with federal judges as the Justice Department under Trump has increasingly used its authority to target the president’s political foes.
“Since returning to office, President Trump has openly waged a campaign ofretribution against his perceived enemies — chief among them those who undermine his mantra that the 2020 election was rigged,” attorneys for the company wrote in a court filing Tuesday.
“Put simply,” they added, “the charging decision is consistent with an administration that prioritizes targeting its enemies over equal protection under the law.”
Though Smartmatic machines were used in only one U.S. county during the 2020 election — Los Angeles, which Trump lost by more than 1.8 million — the company has remained a target for Trump and his allies,...
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