NEW YORK (AP) — Smartmatic will no longer need to provide Fox News with tons of information like U.S. Federal Government Claims A judge handed down a ruling Thursday in a case against the co-founder of a voting machine company on bribery charges in the Philippines.
Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corp., requested information to counter the Smartmatic attack. $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit Regarding broadcasts regarding the 2020 US presidential election. Smartmatic claims its business was devastated after Fox aired false claims that the election technology company helped commit voter fraud.
Fox claimed it was only reporting on newsworthy allegations by then-President Donald Trump and his allies.
At the same hearing, Judge David B. Cohen also denied Smartmatic’s request to question two Fox directors. The company has already asked other companies.
The Aug. 8 indictment of Smartmatic co-founder Roger Pignate and two other executives concerns a geographically distant matter: Smartmatic’s efforts to acquire jobs in the Philippines from 2015 to 2018. It is.
But Fox said the criminal case relates to Smartmatic’s business prospects and therefore the election technology company’s claims about what the company has lost and could lose because of Fox’s 2020 coverage. claims to be related.
“Since August 8th, the government has considered the risks of doing business with a company (some of whose executives) have been accused of serious corruption by the U.S. Department of Justice,” Fox lawyer Brad Masters said Thursday in a New York courtroom. There is a need to do so.” .
He asked the court to order Smartmatic to turn over documents it submitted to the Justice Department in connection with the bribery investigation. Customer inquiries regarding criminal charges. and staff communication regarding the issue and its impact on the company.
The indictment alleges that Pignate and two other Smartmatic executives conspired to pay more than $1 million in bribes to Philippine election officials to deploy and promptly pay for the company’s machines. is accused of. Federal prosecutors allege the payments were made through slush funds created through sham loan agreements and overcharging for machinery.
Pignate, who has served as Smartmatic’s president, and at least one other executive have pleaded not guilty to violating the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and conspiracy to commit money laundering. It is unclear from court records whether the third executive has entered a plea or has an attorney who could comment on the charges.
Boca Raton, Fla.-based Smartmatic itself has not been charged in any criminal case. The company put executives on leave and sought to reassure voters that the election would be conducted with “the utmost integrity and transparency.”
Smartmatic’s lawyers argue that the charges are unrelated to the defamation lawsuit over election fraud claims. Trump’s lawyer Produced by FOX News program.
Smartmatic’s attorney, Caitlin Kovacs, argued Thursday that the charges are “merely allegations.” She suggested that Fox wanted to “play jury prosecutor” and “accuse Smartmatic of crimes they did not commit.”
Mr. Cohen rejected two similar requests from Fox while the federal investigation was ongoing. He said Thursday that the charges have not changed his mind.
“It’s just an accusation. There’s no presumption of guilt,” he said.
Smartmatic sues over show featuring Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and sidney powell The company was portrayed as part of a broader conspiracy to steal 2020 votes from Trump, the Republican and this year’s election winner.
Federal and state election officialsa thorough review of battleground states; President Trump’s then-Attorney General Found No widespread fraud That could have changed the outcome of the 2020 election. Also, no credible evidence that the vote was contaminated was uncovered. Dozens of judges, including some appointed by Trump, have rejected his claims of wrongdoing.
Fox News ultimately aired an interview with an election technology expert who refuted the allegations against Smartmatic.
As is usual in the run-up to civil trials, various parties involved are being questioned under oath by the opposing parties’ lawyers. These out-of-court sessions are called depositions.
Smartmatic on Thursday sought to order depositions of Fox directors Chase Carey and Rolando Hernandez. Smartmatic claims the two attended meetings where important decisions were made.
Devin Anderson, Fox’s attorney, said there was no indication that Carey and Hernandez “have any relevant information” to add. The lawyer said Smartmatic had already questioned other board members, including executive chairman and CEO Lachlan Murdoch, former House of Commons speaker Paul Ryan and Fox founder Rupert Murdoch. It is said that there is
Depositions are typically not made public at this stage of litigation.
Smartmatic attorney Eric Connolly said after court that the company was pursuing other information to show that “Fox was in control of the disinformation spread by Fox News.”
A message seeking comment was sent to Fox. news network is Counterclaim against Smartmaticargued that the defamation case violated New York state law against frivolous lawsuits aimed at silencing reporting or criticism about public issues.
recent smartmatic Settles defamation lawsuit against One America News Network and newsmax. Fox News settles Last year, it acquired another voting technology company, Dominion Voting Systems, for $787 million.
