Newsmax has agreed to pay $67 million to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems, which accused the conservative network of spreading false claims about its role in former President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss.
The settlement, disclosed Monday in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, ends a high-profile case just before trial. Dominion confirmed the agreement, saying it was “pleased to have settled.”
Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis, who presided over the case, had already ruled that Newsmax defamed Dominion by airing baseless allegations. A jury would have decided whether the network acted with “actual malice” and, if so, how much Dominion should receive in damages. The settlement avoided that step.
The $67 million payout follows Fox News Channel’s record-breaking $787.5 million settlement with Dominion in 2023 and Newsmax’s separate $40 million settlement with voting technology company Smartmatic. Both companies were frequent targets of conspiracy theories promoted by Trump allies after his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
Court filings showed that Newsmax executives and hosts privately acknowledged the fraud claims were false even as they gave airtime to Trump allies such as attorney Sidney Powell, who promoted debunked theories involving deceased Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez.
“How long are we going to play along with election fraud?” Newsmax host Bob Sellers asked colleagues just days after Biden was declared the winner, according to internal messages revealed during discovery.
Judge Davis, who also oversaw the Dominion-Fox News case, said it was “CRYSTAL clear” that the fraud allegations lacked any truth. Evidence presented in both lawsuits showed networks saw business opportunities in amplifying Trump’s narrative to attract viewers skeptical of Biden’s win.
Trump, meanwhile, has continued to press unfounded claims of voter fraud. On Monday — the same day Newsmax disclosed the settlement — he vowed to eliminate mail-in ballots and voting machines before the 2026 midterms, despite repeated court rulings rejecting his authority to do so.
Former Attorney General William Barr and multiple recounts, audits, and reviews, including those run by Republican officials, found no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.
The Newsmax case highlights how defamation lawsuits have become a major legal weapon for election technology companies against media outlets that spread misinformation.
