Newsmax Settles Dominion Voting Systems Lawsuit for $67 Million
Newsmax has agreed to pay $67 million to settle a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems.
Dominion's lawsuit stemmed from the network's false claims that its voting technology was used to rig the results of the 2020 presidential election.
More from TheWrap
Newsmax Settles Dominion Voting Systems Lawsuit for $67 Million
David Geffen Responds to Ex-Husband's 'Ludicrous and Contrived' Lawsuit: 'Petty Gossip and Salacious Lies'
UTA Vice Chairman Jay Sures Ordered to Pay $150K in Legal Fees to Pro-Palestine UCLA Grad Student
Paramount Countersues 'Top Gun: Maverick' Writer's Cousin, Who Claims He Wrote Key Scenes
Per a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Newsmax will pay out the settlement in three installments over the next two years, including a $27 million payment already made on Aug. 15, $20 million on or before Jan. 15, 2026 and $20 million on or before Jan. 15, 2027.
'We are pleased to have settled this matter,' a Dominion spokesperson told TheWrap.
In April, Judge Eric Davis ruled that Newsmax ran more than two dozen defamatory and false statements about Dominion following the 2020 election. However, Davis said that a jury would need to decide on whether Newsmax was liable for actual malice and whether Dominion could collect punitive damages. A trial was expected to start later this year.
In a statement, Newsmax said it believed it was 'critically important for the American people to hear both sides of the election disputes that arose in 2020,' adding that it stands by its coverage as 'fair, balanced, and conducted within professional standards of journalism.'
The network also said Davis 'ruled in ways that strongly favored the plaintiffs and limited Newsmax's ability to defend itself' and that the Delaware Court 'effectively enforced a confiscation of our property because our reporting was not always sympathetic to Joe Biden.'
Additionally, it argued that actions taken against Newsmax – and Fox News who settled a separate lawsuit with Dominion for $787.5 million – represent a 'direct attack on free speech and a free press' and that the judiciary's 'willingness to punish news organizations for reporting on matters of urgent national debate undermines the role of the press in a free society.'
'With these matters resolved, Newsmax is positioned to continue its mission: delivering accurate reporting, fostering vigorous debate, and ensuring Americans have access to diverse viewpoints,' the statement concluded. 'At a time when public trust in media is at historic lows, our commitment to balanced reporting, coverage of critical issues facing Americans and open dialogue has never been more important.'
In addition to Dominion, Newsmax also agreed to pay $40 million to settle another defamation lawsuit from the election voting systems company, Smartmatic, last year.
Shares of Newsmax, which are up 5.5% during Monday's trading session, are down 84.7% year to date.
The post Newsmax Settles Dominion Voting Systems Lawsuit for $67 Million appeared first on TheWrap.
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
21 minutes ago
- The Hill
Democrats press DHS for ‘Alligator Alcatraz' information
Democratic lawmakers are pressing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for more information about how the Trump administration teamed up with the state of Florida to create a controversial detention facility for migrants in the middle of the Everglades. 'Brushing aside concerns from human rights watchdogs, environmentalist groups, and Tribal nations, [DHS] has greenlit the construction of this expansive detention facility that may violate detained individuals' human rights, jeopardize public and environmental health and violate federal law,' House and Senate Democrats wrote in a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem dated Wednesday. The detention facility, dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz,' opened in early July to house arrested migrants awaiting deportation. It was created through a state and federal partnership, with Florida officials leading oversight and construction, with DHS footing the bill. President Trump toured the facility when it opened, along with Noem. A federal judge last week temporarily halted expansion of the site after tribal and environmental groups filed a lawsuit over potential damage to wetlands. Located just south of Miami, Alligator Alcatraz quickly raised alarms about conditions for detainees in the hot, humid climate. Some whistleblowers have described worm-infested food, plumbing problems and other issues since its opening. 'The Everglades site was selected precisely because of its remote location and harsh surroundings, which Florida officials reportedly view as 'an ideal location to house and transport migrants,'' the Democrats wrote in their letter Wednesday. 'We ask that DHS promptly provide critical information for the American public to better understand this detention plan.' The letter was signed by more than five dozen members of Congress, led by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.). It requested that DHS respond to several questions by September 3.
The Hill
21 minutes ago
- The Hill
Where's JD Vance? VP takes eighth vacation in seven months
Vice President JD Vance has been in office since January, and already he's racked up more vacation days than most Americans could dream of in a decade. The man who built his brand railing against 'elites' has basically become one — living like the very people he claimed to stand against. His latest trip? A summer holiday in the Cotswolds, the region of England nicknamed 'the Hamptons of the UK.' Vance rented a sprawling manor that goes for about $10,000 a week. Between his motorcades clogging tiny country roads and the protests that followed him across the pond, it's safe to say his family getaway got more press than privacy. But this isn't an isolated incident. This is vacation No.8 this year. Italy, India, Nantucket, Disneyland, Vermont, Greenland — wherever you can name, he's been. Some of those vacations he even labeled as 'official business,' meaning taxpayers footed the bill. Like in March, when he flew with the second lady to Greenland during the height of Trump's fixation with the territory. The trip was so poorly received by Greenland's government that it was cut it short from a multi-day trip to a three hours' trip. Imagine flying all that way for less time than most people spend at a barbecue. The only thing that came from the trip were some Instagram-ready photos of Vance and his wife in the snow. Then there's Disneyland, which he shut down for his family. Then there's a $2,500 Michelin-starred dinner in San Diego. And who could forget his birthday kayak trip, when the military literally raised the level of an Ohio river just to smooth out his paddling conditions. That's not just elite — that's emperor-level. The bigger question is: how does he have so much time off? Most Americans can't even get two consecutive weeks approved without begging their boss. Yet the sitting vice president has managed to disappear almost every month since taking office. For context, Mike Pence barely took personal trips in his first six months. Kamala Harris didn't take a single personal vacation in hers. Meanwhile, families here at home are being crushed under the weight of rising costs. Groceries, health care, gas — everyday basics are becoming luxuries. And while Americans are forced to 'do more with less,' their vice president seems determined to 'do less with more.' The optics matter. When you're the right-hand man to Donald Trump, the guy who wants to convince working-class America that he's their champion, jet-setting across the globe on lavish retreats doesn't scream solidarity. It screams out-of-touch. So as the bills pile up and medical benefits shrink because of the 'big beautiful bill,' JD Vance may be hard to find. Not in Washington. Not in Ohio. But likely on vacation — again. The message is clear: while everyday Americans are fighting to make ends meet, JD Vance is fighting to make his next reservation.
The Hill
21 minutes ago
- The Hill
Political vampires are draining the country — term limits are the answer
In American politics today, our collective energy is being drained at an alarming rate. The culprits? The vampires. Not the tasty ones like Count Chocula; rather, the blood sucking ones, like way too many members of our current Congress. A vampire, by my definition, is someone who takes more energy than he gives. In the workplace, where they're also a problem, I've learned to spot vampires quickly and remove them. In politics, they're just as easy to identify but far harder to root out, and their damage is far greater. Vampires in government come in various forms. Many are not believers in the vision of a better country; they're content to tinker at the edges and do whatever they must to keep their jobs. They will go whichever way the wind blows, as long as it carries them to another term in office. Others excel at shooting down big plans and bold ideas, telling us why things can't or shouldn't be done without offering meaningful solutions of their own. Some are slow-moving and low on energy and creativity. Others have boundless energy but spend it on distractions like launching and defending investigations, fighting over wedge issues that affect few Americans, and chasing political theater rather than measurable progress. Some are masters of endless debate, chewing over the same issues long past the point of usefulness, mistaking motion for progress. They gossip. They maneuver. They focus more on partisan intrigue than on real-world problem solving. And perhaps worst of all, they are not in a rush. They behave as if time is an endless circle. Here's the test: after a leader speaks, do you feel inspired and ready to act, or do you feel drained and disillusioned? If it's the latter, you've just encountered a vampire, and if we applied that standard across Washington, we might be left with only 15 or 20 true leaders in Congress. Our country does not need life-takers but life-givers — leaders who bring energy to the hardest problems, who dream, who believe and who actually create and enact big solutions to big problems. The first step is simple but not easy: Stop electing vampires. The second is even harder: Demand that the people we send to Washington give more than they take. No more small thinking dressed up as realism. The last step is the most challenging of all: We must impose term limits. When we started out as a country, we had Founding Fathers who did not agree with each other on everything. But they did agree on some very important things. It never would have occurred to Thomas Jefferson or George Washington to hang out in Washington, D.C., for 20 or 30 years. They had the good sense and, frankly, good manners, not to overstay their welcome. Vampires are thriving in American politics because politics has become a profession, whereas it was supposed to be a short-term public service. Without term limits, people with the same old ideas and energy-sucking ways can stay in D.C. indefinitely. And they do. Clearly, members of Congress are not motivated to vote themselves out of a job. How can we pass term limits without Congress itself proposing a constitutional amendment? Two-thirds of state legislatures (34 out of 50) must pass resolutions calling for a convention where a constitutional amendment could be proposed. The challenges we face — the national debt, economic inequality, education, public health, national security — are too urgent for leadership that runs on autopilot or thrives on division. We need public servants who treat time like the scarce resource it is and act with urgency on behalf of the real needs of Americans. To win the future, America doesn't need perfect leaders. It needs energetic, committed, life-giving ones. It needs people who push us to think bigger and act faster, even when it is not politically convenient. The stakes are too high to let the vampires keep running the country. Urge your state legislature to pass a resolution calling for a convention on term limits. In the meantime, the next time you vote, ask yourself a simple question: Will this person give the nation more energy than they take from it? If not, guard your neck — and don't vote for him or her. Brian Hamilton is the nationally-recognized entrepreneur who founded Sageworks (now Abrigo), the country's first fintech company. He is also the founder of the Brian Hamilton Foundation and Inmates to Entrepreneurs, where he serves as the leading voice on the power of ownership to transform lives.
