Newsmax agreed to pay Smartmatic $40 million as part of a settlement in the voting technology company’s defamation lawsuit over the network’s claims about the 2020 election, according to a regulatory filing.
The companies reached a settlement last September, which includes the cash payment, to be made over time, along with a five-year warrant allowing Smartmatic to purchase 2,000 shares of Series B preferred stock at $5,000 per share. As of March 7, Newsmax had already paid $20 million under the agreement.
Smartmatic accused Newsmax of spreading “baseless conspiracy theories” that its voting technology manipulated the 2020 election in favor of Joe Biden over Donald Trump in key swing states. The company filed a similar lawsuit against One America News Network, which was settled last April.
A Smartmatic representative said they could not comment on the settlement but noted that the firm is preparing for its $2.7 billion defamation trial against Fox News, which has said it will defend itself on First Amendment grounds.
