Dominion Voting Systems still has a pending lawsuit against Newsmax, but the media outlet says there are different facts in its case that will enable it to prevail in court.
And even "Morning Joe's" Joe Scarborough agrees with that assessment.
On Wednesday morning, after Fox News reached a last-minute settlement with Dominion for a purported sum of $787.5 million, Scarborough interviewed New York Times media critic Jim Rutenberg about the fallout from the case.
When asked about "others" that Dominion may continue its litigation against, Rutenberg named Mike Lindell and Newsmax as likely targets.
Rutenberg told Scarborough: "I don't see how Newsmax can get through this case [the] way that [they] just did. Look at the resources Rupert Murdoch has . . . they don't have the money to settle like the way Rupert Murdoch did."
But Scarborough quickly noted major differences between Fox's and Newsmax's coverage.
Scarborough recounted: "We had that moment when you had an anchor, when Mike Lindell, Mr. Pillow, came on and started lying. The anchor literally got out of his chair, and basically in the words of Eric Cartman, basically said, 'Screw yourself, I'm going home.' And he got up and walked off the set."
Scarborough asked Rutenberg, "Didn't that show that Newsmax, at least, tried to move beyond and made their apologies and tried to mitigate any damages?"
Rutenberg agreed: "That was certainly a moment."
Scarborough's story referenced a Feb. 2, 2021, appearance by Mike Lindell and his exchange with Newsmax anchor Bob Sellers.
"Mike, you're talking about machines," Sellers responded to Lindell after he made claims about Dominion's software. "We, at Newsmax, have not been able to verify any of those kinds of allegations."
Sellers then shared Newsmax's statement that has been airing for months about the voting machine companies, which read, "While there were some clear evidence of some cases of voter fraud and election irregularities, the election results in every state were certified, and Newsmax accepts the results as legal and final. The courts have also supported that view."
After Fox's settlement was announced Tuesday, Newsmax released another statement:
Newsmax believes that the facts at issue in Dominion's case against it are materially different from those that may have driven Fox to settle, and no conclusion about Newsmax should be drawn from that settlement. Newsmax stands by its coverage and analysis of the 2020 election and will continue to vigorously defend against the claim.
Dominion sued Newsmax in Delaware state court in August 2021, and the case is ongoing.
Newsmax, in its court filings, has stated that:
- It reported fairly and accurately on the public statements made by President Trump, his attorneys, and surrogates.
- It had a right to report on statements made by public figures, including the president.
- Newsmax reported on both television and online claims by multiple officials and experts that the election was not "stolen" or "rigged."
- Newsmax reached out to Dominion, and Dominion did not accept offers to appear on the network.
- Newsmax published online at least a dozen articles sharing Dominion's response to Trump campaign claims. Those headlines appeared on Newsmax TV.
- On Dec. 19, 2020, Newsmax published to its website a statement, "Facts About Dominion, Smartmatic You Should Know," which read, in part, "No evidence has been offered that Dominion or Smartmatic used software or reprogrammed software that manipulated votes in the 2020 election."
- Newsmax shared its statement over the course of months during segments related and unrelated to the 2020 election.
It should be noted that Fox News has never made a statement, even after its settlement, as strong and specific as Newsmax's statement of Dec. 19, 2020.
Dominion has cited more than 3,600 communications it purportedly sent to reporters and producers throughout the Fox News organization correcting allegations and asking it to clarify its reporting, which were largely ignored.
Meanwhile Dominion purports to have sent a handful of communications to a single Newsmax employee — which they have not produced to date.
Newsmax acted promptly in clarifying its reporting and attempted early on to have Dominion representatives on the network, Newsmax has stated.
"Newsmax believes that it acted well within the First Amendment to provide Americans with facts and opinions that helped them make an informed opinion about the 2020 election results," Christopher Ruddy, Newsmax CEO, said.
Ruddy noted that the first mention on Newsmax of an allegation about Dominion by Trump attorney Sidney Powell was on Nov. 16, 2020. In the ensuing weeks she and others within the Trump campaign promised to reveal evidence of software manipulation.
When that evidence failed to appear, Newsmax, in a reasonable time, noted that failure.
"Anyone who looks at this fairly, including jurors, will conclude we acted reasonably," Ruddy said.
Marisa Herman ✉
Marisa Herman, a Newsmax senior reporter, focuses on major and investigative stories. A University of Florida graduate, she has more than a decade of experience as a reporter for newspapers, magazines, and websites.
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