Voting machine company Smartmatic announced Monday it expects retractions from Fox News, Newsmax and One America News Network for coverage of President Donald Trump’s claims of voter fraud.
The company said Monday it is sending out legal notices and demand letters that “identify dozens of factually inaccurate statements made by each of the organizations as part of a ‘disinformation campaign’ to injure Smartmatic and discredit the 2020 U.S. election.”
OANN and Fox News did not immediately return a request for comment, but Newsmax did.
“Newsmax itself has never made a claim of impropriety about Smartmatic, its ownership or software,” said the statement. “Individuals, including plaintiff’s attorneys, Congressmen and others, have appeared on Newsmax raising questions about the company and its voting software, citing legal documents or previously published reports about Smartmatic. As any major media outlet, we provide a forum for public concerns and discussion. In the past we have welcomed Smartmatic and its representatives to counter such claims they believe to be inaccurate and will continue to do so.”
In its statement announcing the demand letters, Smartmatic said the company “had nothing to do with the ‘controversies’ that certain public and private figures have alleged regarding the 2020 U.S. election. Multiple fact-checkers have consistently debunked these false statements with stunning consistency and regularity.”
Trump and his allies have insisted since the election that there was widespread fraud. Trump has not yet conceded the race to President-elect Joe Biden. Dozens of lawsuits brought by Trump’s legal team have been smacked down in federal and state courts. On Friday, the United States Supreme Court even opted to not hear the state of Texas’s attempt to overturn Biden’s victories in key swing states, effectively shutting the door on Trump’s efforts to upend the vote before the the Electoral College meets to finalize the election Monday.
“They have no evidence to support their attacks on Smartmatic because there is no evidence. This campaign was designed to defame Smartmatic and undermine legitimately conducted elections,” said Smartmatic CEO Antonio Mugica. “Our efforts are more than just about Smartmatic or any other company. This campaign is an attack on election systems and election workers in an effort to depress confidence in future elections and potentially counter the will of the voters, not just here, but in democracies around the world.”
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