By Erin Mulvaney
A long-running defamation lawsuit over Fox News's on-air claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election advanced Wednesday, with Fox and voting technology company Smartmatic filing competing motions that could determine the future of the case.
Fox, in a filing to a New York state court judge, described Smartmatic's case as a desperate move by a financially troubled company. Smartmatic said in its filing that Fox leaders knew the claims that the voting machine company helped rig the election were false, but intentionally spread the information to boost ratings.
It is one of the last defamation cases outstanding related to how the media covered allegations by President Trump and his allies that voting-machine companies and others rigged the election in favor of Joe Biden. Other cases against news outlets were settled ahead of trial.
Smartmatic alleged in a 2021 suit that Fox News, its parent Fox Corp. and several hosts defamed the company by promoting false election-fraud claims made by Trump associates Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani after the 2020 election. Some segments aired claims that Smartmatic was involved in a scheme to shift votes to Biden.
Fox said in its filing Wednesday that its hosts had no motive or desire to harm Smartmatic, and "all accurately reported the President's claims while also providing their opinions on a fast-moving and evolving issue of national importance."
Fox said that Smartmatic was already failing by the time of the 2020 election, has been mired in scandals, and can't prove that any Fox reports caused the company lost business or other financial harm.
Smartmatic said in a statement about Fox's filing that Fox is purposely trying to smear it.
"Smartmatic saw a litigation lottery ticket in Fox News's coverage of the 2020 Election," Fox wrote. It said the Smartmatic lawsuit was manufactured "to chill speech and generate headlines."
The network argued it was entitled to a ruling in its favor before trial because no reasonable jury could return a verdict for Smartmatic.
In its own motion, Smartmatic asked the judge to rule in its favor before trial and find Fox liable for defamation. The company claimed it suffered billions of dollars in losses and said a jury should decide what damages Smartmatic is entitled to receive.
The company said Fox faced audience backlash after calling Arizona in Biden's favor, and that executives permitted the network to focus subsequent coverage on election fraud claims.
"Fox made Smartmatic the central villain in their manufactured conspiracy," the company said.
The lawsuit was one of several filed against Fox and other conservative news outlets by voting machine companies, which said news reports spread false information that they rigged the election for Biden. In 2023, Fox settled with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million.
Fox Corp. and Wall Street Journal parent News Corp share common ownership.
Smartmatic previously reached settlements in lawsuits against right-wing cable network Newsmax and conservative broadcaster One America News Network.
The Dominion lawsuit unearthed swaths of internal communications between top Fox executives and hosts at the time including Rupert Murdoch, Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott, Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity. The messages showed that Fox's top brass were skeptical of the claims that there was widespread voter fraud in the election.
Smartmatic said in its new filing that Fox leaders, including Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, mocked Trump and his election-fraud claims in private, but publicly promoted an inflammatory and false narrative about Smartmatic.
Fox said Wednesday that the Smartmatic lawsuit was drafting off Dominion's case but was dramatically different. The differences it cited included Smartmatic's minor presence in the U.S. and significant financial and legal problems.
Last year, Smartmatic's co-founder and other leaders were indicted on money laundering and bribery charges by the Justice Department. The company denies the allegations.
Smartmatic said that it alerted Fox News in the weeks after the election that the allegations made on air were false. It also said the fact that it only operated in Los Angeles County for the 2020 U.S. presidential election undermined claims it could help rig the outcome.
"Fox deliberately deceived its audience with utter contempt," Smartmatic said.
In January, a New York state appeals court rejected Fox Corp.'s bid to throw out the Smartmatic lawsuit, allowing the case to proceed toward trial.
The suit names as defendants Fox Corp. and Fox News, as well as Powell, hosts Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro, and the estate of former host Lou Dobbs, who died in 2024. Giuliani, a former Trump lawyer, was originally listed as a defendant but was removed when he filed for bankruptcy in 2023.
Both filings Wednesday were heavily redacted.
Write to Erin Mulvaney at erin.mulvaney@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 30, 2025 18:12 ET (22:12 GMT)
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