Voting technology firm, conservative outlet reach settlement in 2020 election defamation case

A settlement has been reached in a defamation lawsuit pitting an electronic voting machine manufacturer targeted by allies of former President Donald Trump against a conservative news outlet that aired accusations of vote manipulation in the 2020 election. Newsmax on Thursday confirmed a deal had been reached but further details were not disclosed. Smartmatic, the voting machine company, said that Newsmax program hosts and guests made false and defamatory statements in November and December 2020 implying that Smartmatic participated in rigging the results. Newsmax argued that it was simply reporting on newsworthy allegations being made by Trump and his supporters, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and conservative attorney Sidney Powell.