The ongoing $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit filed by Smartmatic against Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corp., took another turn Thursday as a New York judge denied Fox’s request for access to information regarding federal bribery charges against a Smartmatic co-founder. The charges, unrelated to the 2020 US presidential election, involve alleged bribery in the Philippines.
Fox argued that the criminal case against Smartmatic co-founder Roger Piñate and two other executives was relevant to Smartmatic’s business prospects and thus, to the company’s claims of financial losses stemming from Fox’s 2020 election coverage. The network contended that governments might hesitate to do business with a company whose executives face corruption accusations from the U.S. Department of Justice. Specifically, Fox sought documents Smartmatic provided to the DOJ, customer inquiries about the charges, and internal communications regarding the matter’s impact on the company.
Judge David B. Cohen, however, reiterated his previous stance, maintaining that the indictment was merely an accusation and did not presume guilt. He rejected Fox’s argument, echoing Smartmatic’s assertion that the indictment was irrelevant to the defamation suit, which centers on election-fraud claims made by Trump’s legal team on Fox News programs. Smartmatic’s legal team argued that Fox’s intent was to unfairly prejudice the jury by portraying Smartmatic as guilty of a crime.
The indictment alleges that Piñate and two other Smartmatic executives orchestrated a scheme to bribe a Filipino election official to secure contracts and expedite payments for the company’s voting machines. The alleged bribes, totaling over $1 million, were reportedly funneled through fraudulent loan agreements and a slush fund created by overcharging for the machines.
Piñate and at least one other executive have pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to violate the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and money laundering. The third executive’s plea status remains unclear. Smartmatic itself is not charged in the criminal case and has placed the executives on leave, emphasizing the integrity and transparency of its election operations.
This ruling follows a pattern of setbacks for Fox News in defamation cases related to the 2020 election. The network recently settled a $787 million lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems over similar claims of election fraud. Smartmatic also reached settlements with One America News Network and Newsmax in separate defamation suits.
In a parallel development, Judge Cohen also denied Smartmatic’s request to depose two Fox Corp. board members, Chase Carey and Roland Hernandez. Smartmatic argued that the two were involved in key decision-making meetings, but Fox countered that they possessed no relevant information beyond what had already been obtained from depositions of other board members, including Lachlan Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch, and Paul Ryan. Smartmatic indicated its continued pursuit of information demonstrating Fox Corp.’s control over the dissemination of disinformation by Fox News. Fox News has filed a countersuit against Smartmatic, alleging that the defamation suit is a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) intended to stifle free speech. The case continues to unfold, highlighting the complex legal battles surrounding media coverage of the 2020 election and its aftermath.
