Dominion wins access to Newsmax journalists' texts in its defamation case

Dominion Voting Systems is entitled to review personal communications and text messages of Newsmax Media journalists in its defamation suit against the conservative media company, a Delaware judge ruled last week.

The ruling is a blow to Newsmax, which successfully avoided such a mandate in a similar case and sought to allow its employees to voluntarily offer up any relevant communications.

Dominion sued Newsmax for $1.6 billion in 2021, claiming that the conservative news network defamed its company and falsely claimed it rigged the 2020 election. The case is one of more than 10 suits brought by voting machine companies against media companies and individuals who made stolen election claims.

A trial in this suit is scheduled to begin in September 2024.

In legal filings, Newsmax said it was unable to obtain and deliver employees' private communications on personal devices, arguing it had “no legal right or practical ability to obtain this data.”

It also argued it wasn't required to give Smartmatic, another voting company maker suing the conservative news network, access to personal cellphones in a similar case, and shouldn't be forced to do so in this case.