Dominion Voting Systems sues Newsmax, One America News Network, Patrick Byrne

Posted on

Founder and CEO of Overstock.com Patrick Byrne attends Consensus 2019 at the Hilton Midtown on May 15, 2019 in New York City. Photo: Steven Ferdman/Getty Images

Dominion Voting Systems on Tuesday sued conservative media networks Newsmax and One America News Network, as well as businessman Patrick Byrne, alleging they defamed the company.

Driving the news: Dominion, one of the largest voting-machine companies in the U.S., accused the media networks of propagating false statements that the voting machines switched votes from former President Trump to President Biden during the 2020 election.

  • "OAN helped create and cultivate an alternate reality where up is down, pigs have wings, and Dominion engaged in a colossal fraud to steal the presidency from Donald Trump by rigging the vote," Dominion writes in its suit against One American News Network.
  • Dominion also sued Byrne, the former chief executive of Overstock.com Inc., alleging he defamed the company by spreading false accusations that the company rigged the 2020 election.
  • In the three lawsuits, Dominion is seeking more than $1.6 billion in damages, citing lost profit and other costs, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The other side: Newsmax stood by its reporting, saying in an emailed statement, "While Newsmax has not reviewed the Dominion filing, in its coverage of the 2020 Presidential elections, Newsmax simply reported on allegations made by well-known public figures, including the President, his advisors and members of Congress.

  • "Dominion’s action today is a clear attempt to squelch such reporting and undermine a free press," Newsmax added.
  • One American News Network did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The big picture: Dominion Voting Systems has filed a series of defamation lawsuits against media organizations and outspoken supporters of Trump who spread false claims that Dominion altered votes cast in the 2020 election.

  • Dominion in March filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News, arguing that the news network intentionally spread misinformation about the company's role in nonexistent voter fraud. Fox News called the lawsuit "baseless" and moved to dismiss it.
  • The voting-machine company also filed a suit against Rudy Giuliani seeking $1.3 billion in damages for his "demonstrably false” allegations about the company's voting machines.

Source: Read Full Article

Politics