Voting technology company Smartmatic subpoenas Trump campaign as part of $2.7 billion lawsuit against Fox News

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Voting technology company Smartmatic subpoenas Trump campaign as part of $2.7 billion lawsuit against Fox News

Wed May 10, 2023 By Oliver Darcy,

The voting technology company Smartmatic has subpoenaed Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign for a wide array of documents as part of its $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News over its airing of election lies.

The subpoena, which was issued in April and made public in a court filing on Tuesday, requires the Trump campaign to turn over documents related to Smartmatic, Fox News, and the allegations of fraud the campaign falsely made about the 2020 election.

Although the subpoena does not need court approval, the potential for legal wrangling over it hasn’t yet begun. Once served, the Trump campaign can fight it in court. A judge could then quash it, narrow its scope or let it stand.

CNN reached out to Trump’s 2024 campaign for comment and was directed to the 2020 campaign. It was unclear who, if anyone, was still affiliated with the 2020 campaign.

Smartmatic, like Dominion Voting Systems, was swept up in baseless conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. In early 2021, it filed a monster lawsuit against Fox News, alleging that the right-wing network worked in concert with Trump’s attorneys to wage a “disinformation campaign” that jeopardized its survival.

A New York judge in 2022 rejected Fox News’ motion to dismiss Smartmatic’s defamation lawsuit, allowing the case to move forward to discovery.

As part of the ongoing legal process, Smartmatic has also issued other notable subpoenas, including former Attorney General Bill Barr, who served in the Trump administration, in July 2022.

Lachlan Murdoch, the chief executive of Fox Corporation, the parent company of the right-wing channel Fox News, said on Tuesday that the company will fight Smartmatic’s lawsuit.

Fox Corporation last month settled its lawsuit with Dominion for $787.5 million, the largest publicly known defamation settlement in US history.

CNN’s Kristen Holmes contributed reporting.