Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Fox, Newsmax Shoot Down Their Own Aired Claims on Election
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
December 22, 2020

Share

NEW YORK — Two election technology companies whose names have come up in President Donald Trump’s false charges of widespread voter fraud in the presidential election are fighting back, prompting unusual public statements from Fox News and Newsmax.

The statements, over the weekend and on Monday, came after the companies Smartmatic and Dominion raised the prospect of legal action for reporting what they said was false information about them.

Both companies were referenced in the campaign’s suggestion that vote counts in swing states were manipulated to the advantage of President-elect Joe Biden. The companies deny several statements made about them, and there is no evidence any voting system switched or deleted votes in the 2020 election.

A nearly two-minute pre-taped segment was aired over the weekend on a Fox Business Network program hosted by Lou Dobbs and Fox News Channel shows with Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro.

That came days after Smartmatic sent a letter threatening legal action to Fox and two other networks popular with Trump supporters, Newsmax and One America News Network.

The two-minute Fox segments aired in the form of a question-and-answer session between an offscreen voice and Eddie Perez, a voting technology expert at the nonpartisan Open Source Election Technology Institute.

“I have not seen any evidence that Smartmatic software was used to delete, change or alter anything related to vote tabulations,” Perez said.

‘Several Facts Our Viewers and Readers Should Be Aware’

The company says its only work that involved the 2020 U.S. election came in Los Angeles. Trump lawyer Rudolph Giuliani has falsely claimed that Smartmatic was founded in Venezuela by former dictator Hugo Chavez for the goal of fixing elections. Smartmatic was started in Florida in 2000. Its founder is Venezuelan, but the company said Chavez was never involved, and its last work in Venezuela came in 2017 when its software found the government had reported false turnout numbers.

After the segment aired Sunday on Bartiromo’s show, she said, “So that is where we stand right now. We will keep investigating.”

Perez also said there was no apparent business relationship between Smartmatic and Dominion; Trump’s lawyers have claimed with no evidence that Dominion’s vote counting system used at some locations in the U.S. elections had used Smartmatic’s software.

Asked Monday about the segments, Smartmatic’s lawyer, J. Erik Connolly, said the company “cannot comment on the recent broadcast by Fox News due to potential litigation.”

The network did not comment beyond the on-air segments aired over the weekend.

A statement aired by Newsmax anchors on Monday, and also printed on the company website, was much broader and concerned both Smartmatic and Dominion.

In the statement, Newsmax said there were “several facts our viewers and readers should be aware,” among them the lack of a business relationship between the two companies or that Dominion had any ownership relationship with George Soros, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others.

“No evidence has been offered that Dominion or Smartmatic used software or reprogrammed software that manipulated votes in the 2020 election,” Newsmax said.

Company spokesman Anthony Rizzo said Newsmax itself had never made a claim of impropriety, but that others had appeared on the network to raise questions about Smartmatic.

Powell, an Appellate Lawyer From Texas, Was Part of the President’s Legal Team Immediately After the Election

“As any major media outlet, we provide a forum for public concerns and discussion,” he said.

There was no immediate response to a request for comment from OANN.

Dominion has not specifically targeted any news organization. Instead, last week its lawyers sent a letter to Sidney Powell, demanding the Trump supporter retract several of the “wild and reckless” allegations she has made about them. The company said some of its employees have been stalked, harassed and received death threats.

Powell, an appellate lawyer from Texas, was part of the president’s legal team immediately after the election but was disavowed after making accusations of a scheme to manipulate voting machines.

In its letter to Powell, Dominion lawyers Thomas Clare and Megan Meier said that the company had no ties “to the Chinese government, the Venezuelan government, Hugo Chavez, (British politician) Malloch Brown, George Soros, Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster.”

Powell did not immediately return a request for comment.

Clare said Dominion’s immediate focus is on Powell for what she has been saying about the company.

“Moving forward, we will certainly be taking a close look at others who have participated directly in the defamatory campaign, as well as those who have recklessly provided a platform for these discredited allegations,” he said.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

US B-2 Bombers Involved in Iran Strikes, U.S. Official Says

DON'T MISS

Trump Says US Forces Bombed Iran Nuclear Sites

DON'T MISS

LA Dodgers Pledge $1 Million to Support Families Impacted by ICE Raids

DON'T MISS

Pakistan to Nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

DON'T MISS

Vance, in Los Angeles, Says Troops Need to Stay, Blasts Newsom Over Immigration

DON'T MISS

Nuclear Diplomacy Stuck, Israel Says It Killed Top Iran Commander

DON'T MISS

Mahmoud Khalil Vows to Resume Pro-Palestinian Activism After Release From US Jail

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He Wants to Fund More Trade Schools. Just Not These.

DON'T MISS

Two Days of Terror: How the Minnesota Shooter Evaded Police and Got Caught

DON'T MISS

B-2 Bombers Moving to Guam Amid Middle East Tensions, US Officials Say

UP NEXT

Voice of America Parent Terminates Over 600 More Staff in Likely Death Knell

UP NEXT

US Court Lets Trump Keep Control of California National Guard for Now

UP NEXT

Massive Security Breach: 16 Billion Passwords Leaked From Apple, Google, Facebook Accounts

UP NEXT

Hunger Strike Begins as California Prisons Hand Down Biggest Restrictions Since COVID

UP NEXT

Musk Shares Negative Drug Test Results, Challenges Media Outlets

UP NEXT

Hurricane Erick Threatens Mexico’s Pacific Coast, Rapid Strengthening Expected

UP NEXT

Gavin Newsom Finally Admits He’s Contemplating a Run for President

UP NEXT

More US Officials Face Threats as Fears Grow Over Political Violence

UP NEXT

Protester Killed at Utah ‘No Kings’ Rally Was Fashion Designer From ‘Project Runway’

UP NEXT

‘We Will Kill You Dead’: Florida Sheriff’s Stark Warning to Demonstrators

Trump Says US Forces Bombed Iran Nuclear Sites, Says ‘Fordow Is Gone’

1 hour ago

LA Dodgers Pledge $1 Million to Support Families Impacted by ICE Raids

6 hours ago

Pakistan to Nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

6 hours ago

Vance, in Los Angeles, Says Troops Need to Stay, Blasts Newsom Over Immigration

6 hours ago

Nuclear Diplomacy Stuck, Israel Says It Killed Top Iran Commander

6 hours ago

Mahmoud Khalil Vows to Resume Pro-Palestinian Activism After Release From US Jail

6 hours ago

Trump Says He Wants to Fund More Trade Schools. Just Not These.

7 hours ago

Two Days of Terror: How the Minnesota Shooter Evaded Police and Got Caught

7 hours ago

B-2 Bombers Moving to Guam Amid Middle East Tensions, US Officials Say

7 hours ago

Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief

7 hours ago

Investors React to US Attack on Iran Nuclear Sites

President Donald Trump on Saturday said that a “very successful attack” on three nuclear sites in Iran had been carried out. In ...

44 minutes ago

President Donald Trump gestures next to a new flagpole with the U.S. flag after disembarking Marine One upon arrival at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 21, 2025. (Reuters/Kevin Mohatt)
44 minutes ago

Investors React to US Attack on Iran Nuclear Sites

A wildfire dubbed the Colvin Fire broke out Saturday near Woodlake in Tulare County, burning 46 acres with 0% containment and threatening two structures, according to CalFire. (CalFire)
48 minutes ago

Tulare County’s Colvin Fire Ignites With 80 Personnel on Scene

1 hour ago

US B-2 Bombers Involved in Iran Strikes, U.S. Official Says

A B-2 Spirit stealth bomber takes off at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, April 30, 2025. U.S. Air Force/Staff Sgt. Joshua Hastings/Handout via REUTERS
1 hour ago

Trump Says US Forces Bombed Iran Nuclear Sites, Says ‘Fordow Is Gone’

Oct 24, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; General view of the centerfield plaza during media prior to game one of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images/File Photo
6 hours ago

LA Dodgers Pledge $1 Million to Support Families Impacted by ICE Raids

President Donald Trump talks to reporters upon his arrival at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey, U.S., June 20, 2025. (Reuters File)
6 hours ago

Pakistan to Nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

U.S. Vice President JD Vance greets U.S. Marines at the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 20, 2025. (Reuters/Daniel Cole)
6 hours ago

Vance, in Los Angeles, Says Troops Need to Stay, Blasts Newsom Over Immigration

A fragment falls through the sky after Israel's Iron Dome intercepted a missile launched from Iran towards Israel, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
6 hours ago

Nuclear Diplomacy Stuck, Israel Says It Killed Top Iran Commander

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend