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Smartmatic, OANN Reach Settlement 04/17 06:27
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A voting technology company targeted by bogus fraud
claims related to the 2020 presidential election settled a defamation lawsuit
Tuesday against a conservative news outlet.
The settlement between Florida-based Smartmatic and One America News Network
is the latest development in a larger legal pushback by voting equipment
companies that became ensnared in wild conspiracy theories falsely claiming
they had flipped votes and cost former President Donald Trump reelection.
In a statement, the company said it had "resolved its litigation with OANN
through a confidential settlement." The dismissal of its lawsuit was filed in
federal court in the District of Columbia. Chip Babcock, a Houston-based
attorney representing the news outlet, confirmed the case had been resolved but
said he was unable to disclose any of the settlement terms.
Smartmatic was an odd target for the conspiracy theorists because use of its
voting technology and software was so limited. It was used only in Los Angeles
County, a Democratic stronghold in a state that was not a presidential
battleground and where Trump did not contest his loss.
But the company has for years also provided voting services in Venezuela,
and that created a springboard for phony claims that a foreign company was
involved in a vast conspiracy to flip the election from Trump to Democrat Joe
Biden. Smartmatic also has active lawsuits against Fox News and the
conservative outlet Newsmax over similar complaints. Fox has said it had a
First Amendment right to air claims about an election that were being promoted
by prominent figures.
Last year, on the eve of a trial, Fox News agreed to pay $787 million to
settle a defamation lawsuit filed by a much larger voting technology company,
Dominion Voting Systems, which claimed the network and its hosts spread false
claims that its equipment helped rig the election against Trump. Dominion has
other defamation lawsuits that remain active, including one against One America
News Network.
The conspiracy theories relating to voting equipment and software are among
the lies about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election won by Biden.
Numerous reviews, audits and recounts in the presidential swing states where
Trump contested his loss have affirmed Biden's victory, and there has been no
evidence of widespread fraud. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential
nominee, is facing federal and state charges related to his attempts to
overturn the results.
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