Conservative U.S. broadcaster Newsmax has agreed to pay $67 million to Dominion Voting Systems, bringing an end to a lengthy legal battle over false claims that the company helped rig the 2020 presidential election.
The settlement, disclosed on Monday, comes nearly three years after Dominion launched the lawsuit accusing Newsmax of deliberately amplifying conspiracy theories that its machines flipped votes away from Donald Trump. The allegations, Dominion argued, inflicted serious reputational and financial damage on the firm.
Though the case was scheduled to go to trial in October, the Delaware Superior Court had already ruled that Newsmax’s coverage crossed into defamation. Jurors would have been asked to determine whether the network acted with malice and to assess the scale of damages. By settling, Newsmax avoids a potentially more expensive judgment. Dominion had sought $1.6 billion.
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In its statement, Dominion said it was satisfied with the outcome. Newsmax, while agreeing to the payout, insisted its reporting on the election was responsible and said it chose settlement only because of what it described as unfavorable judicial rulings that undermined its defense.
The financial terms require Newsmax to pay in three installments, beginning with $27 million already delivered, followed by additional payments in 2026 and 2027. Interestingly, despite the large payout, the company’s shares climbed about 15 percent in New York trading after the news broke.
This is not the network’s first costly concession. In 2023, Newsmax agreed to a $40 million deal with Smartmatic, another election technology company. Fox News also settled a parallel case with Dominion last year for a record $787.5 million.
Former President Trump, meanwhile, continues to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the 2020 vote. In a fresh social media post on Monday, he promised to “do away with” mail-in ballots and voting machines if returned to office.