Voting machine company Smartmatic has reached an undisclosed settlement with One America News Network (OANN) over the firm's lawsuit accusing the network of linking its technology to vote fraud during the 2020 elections.
Erik Connolly, an attorney representing the company with headquarters in London, confirmed the move: "Smartmatic has resolved its litigation against OANN through a confidential settlement." The company has also filed similar complaints against Newsmax and Fox News, with both remaining unsolved.
The legal tangle between Smartmatic and OANN stemmed from the latter's coverage of the 2020 election. According to the November 2021 lawsuit, the network "spread disinformation" related to election fraud during the previous year's polls.
"OANN knew its assertions about Smartmatic were not true, [and it] had seen no evidence to support the assertions," the lawsuit stated. "But OANN chose to spread disinformation."
Smartmatic CEO Antonio Mugica issued a statement at the time of the lawsuit's filing explaining why the company decided to take OANN to court. According to him, the damage to the firm "from this parallel universe of lies and disinformation has reverberated across the U.S. and in dozens of countries around the world."
"Newsmax has previously argued it 'reported accurately on allegations made by well-known public figures,'" Axios reported. It added that Newsmax has also accused Smartmatic of mounting "a clear attempt to squelch the rights of a free press."
Meanwhile, Fox News has filed a motion to dismiss the $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit that Smartmatic filed against it. The network cited First Amendment protections and public interest in the election claims by former U.S. President Donald Trump and his allies.
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But in April 2023, Fox News settled a similar lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems, another voting machine company. The network was forced to shell out $787.5 million in damages as part of the agreement. (Related: Fox News settles defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems as conservatives continue to suffer from other media outlets.)
Supreme Court of the Philippines sides with Smartmatic, calls ban on the company "wrong"
The news of the settlement between Smartmatic and OANN follows a recent development with regard to the company in the Philippines. Manila had utilized Smartmatic machines for several of its elections.
On April 16, the Supreme Court of the Philippines (SCPH) ruled that the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) was wrong in disqualifying Smartmatic from participating in the Southeast Asian nation's bidding process for future poll contracts. The ban stemmed from the COMELEC questioning Smarmatic's qualifications "over alleged serious and material irregularities in the transmission and reception of the 2022 elections," as reported by Philippine news outlet Rappler.
The commission's en banc committee issued the prohibition on Smartmatic, which the SCPH's April 16 ruling overturned. The high court, however, clarified that the contract for the 2025 Philippine elections – already won by South Korean company Miru Systems – would not be affected and Smartmatic would be able to participate in contracts for the 2028 elections and beyond.
Smartmatic lauded the high court's ruling in a statement, describing it as a "significant victory for fairness and the rule of law." Christian Robert Lim, spokesman for the company's Philippine subsidiary, added that the decision "sends a clear message to those at the helm of COMELEC that due process matters."
But the commission has voiced its intent to appeal the ruling, with COMELEC Chairman George Garcia telling reporters on April 18: "We will file a motion for reconsideration after we get a copy of the [SCPH's] decision."
John Rex Laudiangco, spokesman for the electoral body, also defended COMELEC's initial disqualification of Smartmatic. He argued that the move was "a significant step taken with a view of safeguarding the integrity of the country’s elections, shielding and isolating all phases of the electoral processes … from any and all issues which might tarnish the bedrock of democracy."
Watch Emerald Robinson and Patrick Byrne discussing the U.S. Department of Justice's probe of Smartmatic over allegations of bribery in the Philippines.
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Forensic analysis appears to show that Dominion machines switched votes from Trump to Biden.
Fox News finds Dominion staffers knew voting machines were 'riddled' with crucial counting errors.
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