Monday, September 16, 2024

Judge: Newsmax Did Not Target Smartmatic; Details Criminal Allegations, Venezuela Ties (Connecting the Dots: Past Research on Smartmatic, Venezuela, Morton Halperin, Mark Halperin, ONE Campaign, Sidley Austin LLP & Soros Funding, All Networking)

Judge: Newsmax Did Not Target Smartmatic; Details Criminal Allegations, Venezuela Ties (Connecting the Dots: Past Research on Smartmatic, Venezuela, Morton Halperin, Mark Halperin, ONE Campaign, Sidley Austin LLP & Soros Funding, All Networking)

Picture of the logo of Smartmatic, the firm that supplies voting technology, seen on a sliding door at the headquarters of the company in 2017. (Getty Images)

Newsmax

Thursday, 12 September 2024 10:14 PM EDT

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/2020-election-smartmatic-newsmax/2024/09/12/id/1180173/

A lawsuit pitting an electronic voting machine manufacturer that was targeted by allies of former President Donald Trump against a conservative news outlet that aired accusations of vote manipulation in the 2020 election appears headed to trial, following a Delaware judge's ruling Thursday.

Florida-based Smartmatic is suing Newsmax, claiming the cable network’s hosts and guests made false and defamatory statements after the election implying that Smartmatic participated in rigging the results, and that its software was used to switch votes.

Newsmax, also based in Florida, argues that it was simply reporting on serious and newsworthy allegations being made by Trump and his supporters, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani and conservative attorney Sidney Powell.

Attorneys for both sides asked Superior Court Judge Eric Davis to rule in their favor without holding a trial, which is scheduled to start Sept. 30. On Thursday, Davis granted partial summary judgment to each side but said a jury must decide several key issues.

"Statements regarding Smartmatic software or voting machines altering the results of the election are factually false,” wrote Davis, who noted that Smartmatic did not provide any election machines or software used in the 2020 election outside of Los Angeles.

However, the judge said that not every allegedly defamatory statement published by Newsmax, including statements about Smartmatic’s ties to Venezuela and its late president Hugo Chavez, has been shown to be materially false.

“Therefore, the court will allow Newsmax to contest falsity as to Smartmatic’s connections with Venezuela,” he wrote.

In court papers, Newsmax has described Smartmatic as “a struggling election technology company with a checkered history” that is using a legally baseless and unconstitutional theory of liability to try to obtain a massive windfall.

Last month, a federal grand jury in Florida indicted three current and former executives of Smartmatic in a scheme to pay more than $1 million in bribes to put its voting machines in the Philippines. Prosecutors allege that Smartmatic’s Venezuelan-born co-founder, Roger PiƱate, colluded with others to funnel bribes to the chairman of the Philippines’ electoral commission using a slush fund created by overcharging for each voting machine it supplied authorities.

In a favorable ruling for Newsmax, Davis rejected Smartmatic’s claim that the news outlet acted with “express malice” under Florida law, meaning that its primary motivation was to injure Smartmatic.

“There is no evidence that Newsmax acted with evil intent towards Smartmatic,” the judge wrote.

Davis previously ruled that Smartmatic is a “limited public figure” for purposes of defamation and must show that Newsmax acted with “actual malice” by knowingly and recklessly disregarding the truth. On Thursday, he said actual malice is an issue for a jury, and that a jury also must decide whether Smartmatic is entitled to damages.

In another blow to Smartmatic, Davis said Newsmax can argue that it is protected from liability under Florida’s “neutral reporting privilege," which extends to “disinterested and neutral reporting” on matters of public concern. Newsmax argues that the privilege applies because many of the allegedly defamatory statements were made by third parties appearing as guests, or were rebroadcast after being made by third parties on non-Newsmax platforms.

“With these facts, a reasonable jury could find Newsmax was reporting on a matter of public concern without endorsing the allegations surrounding the election,” he wrote, adding that a jury could also find that Newsmax's reporting was not neutral.

Davis also said Newsmax could assert a “fair reporting privilege” regarding reporting by White House correspondent Emerald Robinson about a whistleblower affidavit filed in a Georgia lawsuit challenging the election results. The affidavit involved claims by Powell that Smartmatic had colluded with the Venezuelan government in that country’s 2013 presidential election.

Newsmax argues that Florida’s fair reporting privilege applies to accurate reporting on judicial proceedings, including court records, and that Robinson was reporting on the contents of an affidavit filed in federal court. Smartmatic contends that the affidavit was not signed or sworn, and therefore not an official document. Davis said a jury must decide whether the fair reporting privilege applies to Robinson, who erroneously reported that the affidavit was sworn.

The Delaware lawsuit, which takes issue with 24 Newsmax reports over a five-week period in late 2020, is one of several stemming from reports by conservative news outlets following the election. Smartmatic also is suing Fox News for defamation in New York and recently settled a lawsuit in the District of Columbia against the One America News Network, another conservative outlet.

Dominion Voting Systems similarly filed several defamation lawsuits against those who spread conspiracy theories blaming its election equipment for Trump’s loss. Last year, in a case presided over by Davis, Fox News settled with Dominion for $787 million.

Newsmax Statement on Court Ruling:

"While Newsmax is disappointed that any part of Smartmatic’s lawsuit is going to trial as we believe it is a threat to a free press, we are pleased that the Court found no evidence that Newsmax acted with evil intent toward Smartmatic, that Newsmax’s reporting 'was not a "campaign" to defame Smartmatic' (as Smartmatic alleged), and that the neutral and fair reporting privileges are available to Newsmax at trial.

The Court also summarized several public controversies involving Smartmatic, including its association with the murderous Chavez regime in Venezuela, allegations of corruption and bribery in the Philippines, and its more recent history of allegations of corruption that led to a criminal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and resulted in the indictment of three Smartmatic executives for violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

The DOJ alleged Smartmatic executives engaged in money laundering and allegedly bribed an election official.

Smartmatic can hardly claim that Newsmax’s coverage harmed its reputation. This case is not about the left versus right, but about a free press being allowed to do its job.”

Connecting the Dots:

Mark Malloch-Brown is the CEO for Smartmatic (electronic voting system used in the United States) and a global board member for the Open Society Foundations.

George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.

Moises Naim  is a global board member for the Open Society Foundations, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) a member of the Bretton Woods Committee, was a board member for the International Crisis Group and a minister of trade and industry for Venezuela.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).

George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, a member of the Bretton Woods Committee and a board member for the International Crisis Group.

Morton H. Halperin is a senior adviser for the Open Society FoundationsMark Halperin’s father, was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and a director at the ONE Campaign.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, a supporter for the Center for American Progress and was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the International Rescue Committee.

ONE Campaign is a partner with the International Rescue Committee.

Harold E. Ford Jr. was an overseer at the International Rescue Committee and is a political commentator for MSNBC.

Mark Halperin In 2010, Halperin joined MSNBC, becoming the senior political analyst and a contributor. is a founding editor for Bloomberg Politics, currently a host and commentator for Newsmax TV and Morton H. Halperin’s son.

Bloomberg Politics is a division of Bloomberg LP.

Michael R. Bloomberg is the founder of Bloomberg LP, an advocate for the ONE Campaign and was the New York City Mayor.

ONE Campaign is a partner with the International Rescue Committee.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the International Rescue Committee and the Center for American Progress.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations and a supporter for the Center for American Progress.

ONE Campaign is a partner with the International Rescue Committee.

Morton H. Halperin was a director at the ONE Campaign, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, is Mark Halperin’s father, and a senior adviser for the Open Society Foundations

Moises Naim  is a global board member for the Open Society Foundations and a minister of trade and industry for Venezuela.

Mark Malloch-Brown is a global board member for the Open Society Foundations and the CEO for Smartmatic (electronic voting system used in the United States).

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society and a supporter for the Center for American Progress.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Center for American Progress and the International Rescue Committee.

ONE Campaign is a partner with the International Rescue Committee.

Madeleine K. Albright is a director at the Center for American Progress, an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, an advisory board member for the Truman Center for National Policy, an advisory board member for the Truman National Security Project and was a director at the Center for a New American Security.

R. Hunter Biden is a director at the Center for National Policy, a director at the Truman National Security Project and Joseph R. Biden Jr’s son.

Kamala D. Harris is an advisory board member for the Center for National Policy, an advisory board member for the Truman National Security Project, the vice president for the Joe Biden administration and the 2024 presidential candidate for the Democratic Party.

Joseph R. Biden Jr. is Hunter Biden’s father, a regent at the Smithsonian Institution, the president for the Joe Biden Administration and spent Thanksgiving with David Rubenstein.

David M. Rubenstein spent Thanksgiving with Joe Biden, is a regent at the Smithsonian Institution and the co-chairman for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Cameron F. Kerry is a fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank)John F. Kerry’s brother and a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.

James David Vance worked at Sidley Austin LLP and is Donald Trump's running mate for VP.

Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.

Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP and an advocate for the ONE Campaign.

ONE Campaign is a partner with the International Rescue Committee.

Morton H. Halperin was a director at the ONE Campaign, is Mark Halperin’s father and a senior adviser for the Open Society Foundations

Moises Naim  is a global board member for the Open Society Foundations and a minister of trade and industry for Venezuela.

Mark Malloch-Brown is a global board member for the Open Society Foundations and the CEO for Smartmatic (electronic voting system used in the United States).

Resources: Past Research

Smaller Bites - Newsmax Drops Journalist Lara Logan Over Immigration Remarks (Connecting the Dots: Newsmax, MSNBC, Mark Halperin, Morton H. Halperin & Soros Funded Foundation’s Think Tanks, All Networking) (Past Research on Mark Halperin, Morton H. Halperin)

Saturday, October 22, 2022

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2022/10/smaller-bites-newsmax-drops-journalist.html  

MSNBC Host Threatens to Quit After Show Pulled (Connecting the Dots: MSNBC, Mika Brzezinski, Morning Joe, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Kimberly Cheatle, U.S. Secret Service, PepsiCo & Soros Funding, All Networking) (Past Research on MSNBC)

Tuesday, July 16, 2024

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2024/07/msnbc-host-threatens-to-quit-after-show.html

Smaller Bites – Smartmatic (Connecting the Dots: Smartmatic Voting Machines And The Connection To Soros) (Past Research on Smartmatic)

Wednesday, October 19, 2022

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2022/10/smaller-bites-smartmatic-connecting.html

Venezuela, Colombia Border Areas Hopeful as Reopening Looms (Connecting the Dots: Venezuela, Colombia & Soros Funded Think Tanks) (Past Research on Venezuela)

Monday, August 22, 2022

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2022/08/venezuela-colombia-border-areas-hopeful.html

Mass Shooting Outside Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay; 50+ Dead, 406 Sent to Hospital (Past Research on the ONE Campaign)

Monday, October 2, 2017

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2017/10/mass-shooting-outside-las-vegas.html

Game Change: The Massive Conflict of Interest In Bloomberg Politics’ Attack On ‘Duck Dynasty’ (Past Research on Mark Halperin & Bloomberg Politics)

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2015/05/game-change-massive-conflict-of.html

Report: Hunter Biden Has Joined Dad's WH Meetings (Connecting the Dots: Hunter Biden, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, The Truman National Security Project, The Whitehouse Project, Smithsonian Institution, Russia, China, Ukraine & Soros Funding, All Networking) (Past Research on the Truman National Security Project)

Thursday, July 4, 2024

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2024/07/report-hunter-biden-has-joined-dads-wh.html

Hours After John Kerry Demands Green Transition Accelerated – His Emissions Closet Swings Wide Open (Connecting the Dots: Cameron Kerry, John Kerry, Teresa Heinz Kerry, Soros, the Climate Reality Project, the Brookings Institution (think tank), the EPA and onto the FDA, Pfizer & Johnson & Johnson. It’s the Network That Never Ends. One Project (Climate Change) Just bleeds into the Next (Covid Project)) (Past Research on Cameron Kerry)

Thursday, July 21, 2022

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2022/07/hours-after-john-kerry-demands-green.html

J. D. Vance (Connecting the Dots: J.D. Vance, Sidley Austin LLP, Obama, CNN, Kimberly Cheatle, U.S. Secret Service, PepsiCo, U.S. Secret Service, Pence, FBI, Merrick Garland, Alejandro Mayorkas, O'Melveny & Myers LLP & Soros Funding, All Networking) (Past Research on J.D. Vance & Sidley Austin LLP)

Monday, July 15, 2024

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2024/07/j-d-vance-connecting-dots-jd-vance.html

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