WASHINGTON (AP) — A voting technology company targeted by bogus fraud claims related to the 2020 presidential election settled a defamation lawsuit Tuesday against a conservative news outlet.
The settlement between and One America News Network is the latest development in a larger legal pushback by voting equipment companies that became ensnared in wild conspiracy theories falsely claiming they had flipped votes and cost reelection.
In a statement, the company said it had "resolved its litigation with OANN through a confidential settlement.” The dismissal of its lawsuit was filed in federal court in the District of Columbia. Chip Babcock, a Houston-based attorney representing the news outlet, confirmed the case had been resolved but said he was unable to disclose any of the settlement terms.
Smartmatic was an odd target for the because use of its voting technology and software was so limited. It was used only in Los Angeles County, a Democratic stronghold in a state that was not a presidential battleground and where Trump did not contest his loss.
But the company has for years also provided , and that created a springboard for phony claims that a foreign company was involved in a vast conspiracy to flip the election from Trump to Democrat Joe Biden. Smartmatic also has active lawsuits against and the conservative outlet Newsmax over similar complaints. Fox has said it had a to air claims about an election that were being promoted by prominent figures.
Last year, on the eve of a trial, Fox News agreed to to settle a filed by a much larger voting technology company, , which claimed the network and its hosts spread false claims that its equipment helped rig the election against Trump. Dominion has other defamation lawsuits that remain active, including one against One America News Network.
The relating to voting equipment and software are among about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election . Numerous , and in the presidential swing states where Trump contested his loss have affirmed Biden's victory, and there has been . Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is facing and related to his attempts to overturn the results.
