Fox News countersues voting machine company Smartmatic

Fox News has countersued the voting machine manufacturer Smartmatic, alleging that the company's claim of $2.7 billion in damages in connection with the network's coverage of the 2020 election are excessive.

The company sued Fox and several on-air personalities for using network airtime to "defame and disparage Smartmatic and its election technology and software" with debunked conspiracy theories about the presidential election. Earlier this month a judge dismissed claims against the network's Jeanine Pirro and "Kraken" lawyer Sydney Powell, but agreed the case against Fox host Maria Bartiromo and former network anchor Lou Dobbs can proceed.

In its countersuit, Fox argues that Smartmatic should be punished under what's known as anti-SLAPP laws, which are intended to protect the media from abusive litigation. The network is seeking payment of its attorneys' fees and "other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper."

Fox News has maintained that it was within its First Amendment rights to cover the president's false claims about the company's voting technology — though courts repeatedly have refused to dismiss Smartmatic's lawsuit on those grounds.

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"It is ironic that Fox claims that Smartmatic's lawsuit is without basis after the Court found that the lawsuit had a substantial basis in law and fact," Smartmatic attorney J. Erik Connolly said in a statement in response to Fox's filing. "The decisions of courts across the country regarding these defamatory statements speak for themselves; and, the courts are saying something very different than Fox."

Fox also has been sued by Dominion Voting Systems, another manufacturer of voting machines, for parroting Trump's lies about election fraud.