In August, Newsmax reached a $67 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over accusations that Newsmax defamed Dominion after the 2020 election by falsely accusing it of conducting election fraud. Newsmax continued to trumpet the settlement in an Aug. 25 article touting how it has $200 million in cash on hand after its IPO earlier this year:
This capital position, even after accounting for the company’s $67 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, provides ample flexibility to reinvest in content, expand digital offerings, and negotiate stronger carriage deals. The settlement is payable over three years and was resolved at a fraction of what Fox News paid in its 2023 settlement with Dominion.
Two days later, a Newsmax article by Jim Thomas reported on another Dominion settlement:
Rudy Giuliani has settled Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit, ending a yearslong legal fight over his claims that the company helped rig the 2020 presidential election against President Donald Trump, The Hill reported.
The parties agreed “to the dismissal of all claims and causes of action asserted in this matter by Dominion against Giuliani with prejudice. Each party shall bear its own attorneys’ fees, expenses, and costs.”
The terms of the settlement, including whether Giuliani will make a financial payment, remain undisclosed.
It turns out there may have been a reason for these seemingly sudden settlements (which also included deals with right-wing lawyer Sidney Powell and right-wing channel One America News): Last month, Dominion was sold to a Republican operative and “election reform” advocate and renamed Liberty Vote, claiming that he wants to “restore public confidence in the electoral process through transparent, secure, and trustworthy voting systems, including the use of hand-marked paper ballots.” It appears that reaching those settlements were a condition of the sale, though its lawsuit against Mike Lindell remains operative.
Streangely, Newsmax did no reporting on Dominion’s sale, even though it touted its own settlement with the company. It seems Newsmax would rather not be reminded of that unfortunate episode.