Dominion sues Newsmax, One America News and the Overstock founder for $1.6billion in damages EACH for 'spreading claims their voting machines rigged the election for Biden'
Dominion Voting Systems sued Newsmax, One America News and the founder of Overstock.com on Tuesday each for $1.6 billion in damages over accusations they defamed the company by claiming it helped rig the 2020 election against former President Trump.
Dominion, one of the nation's largest voting companies, has cited lost profits and other costs in demanding $1.6 billion from Newsmax Media Inc., Herring Networks Inc.'s One America News Network and Overstock.com founder Patrick Byrne.
The firm claimed the news networks defamed them by airing stories that their vote-counting machines switched their votes from Trump to Biden.
Newsmax told DailyMail.com in a statement: 'While Newsmax has not reviewed the Dominion filing, in its coverage of the 2020 Presidential elections, Newsmax simply reported on allegations made by well-known public figures, including the President, his advisors and members of Congress - Dominion´s action today is a clear attempt to squelch such reporting and undermine a free press.'
Dominion has also accused Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne, above, of repeatedly claiming that Dominion rigged final counts to 'steal' the election
Dominion Voting Systems is suing One America News Network, Newsmax and the ex-CEO of online retailer Overstock.com Patrick Byrne for defamation
The lawsuit says that Byrne falsely alleged Dominion rigged the vote. Byrne has said that he did not vote for Trump in 2020, but believes the election was rigged. He appeared publicly alongside Trump's staunchest warriors in the 2020 election fight, including MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and Trump attorney Sidney Powell.
The lawsuit against One America News also names executives Charles Herring and Robert Herring Sr. and reporters Chanel Rion and Christina Bobb as defendants.
Dominion claimed in its suit that both One America News and Newsmax 'saw a business opportunity.'
'Spurred by a quest for profits and viewers, OAN a competitor to media giant Fox engaged in a race to the bottom with Fox and other outlets such as Newsmax to spread false and manufactured stories about election fraud,' the suit against each network said.
One America News network previously aired disclaimers before guests made claims about Dominion Voting systems, saying 'the statements and claims expressed in this program are presented at this time as opinions only and are not intended to be taken or interpreted by the viewer as established facts,' and that they were not the results of OAN's reporting.
In April, Newsmax apologized and said there is no evidence one of Dominion's top employees, Eric Coomer, manipulated election results in 2020, after the staffer filed a defamation lawsuit next year.
'Newsmax subsequently found no evidence that such allegations were true. Many of the states whose results were contested by the Trump campaign after the November 2020 election have conducted extensive recounts and audits, and each of these states certified the results as legal and final,' the news network said in a statement published on its website and broadcast on air.
Dominion has also filed suit demanding $1.6 billion from Fox News, though Fox has moved to dismiss the claims and said in a court filing in May that news outlets 'must be able to report both sides of a story involving claims striking at the core of our democracy.'
OANN representatives and Byrne did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump continues to falsely claim that he lost to Democratic President Joe Biden due to rampant electoral fraud, claims that were rejected by multiple courts, state election officials and members of his own administration.
Trump allies, including lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, picked up an online conspiracy theory that Dominion machines were used to hack the election, and made those baseless allegations during appearances on the conservative television stations.
Former President Trump continues to falsely claim that he lost to Democratic President Joe Biden due to rampant electoral fraud, claims that were rejected by multiple courts, state election officials and members of his own administration
Giuliani and Powell, who have also been sued by Dominion, say they were lawfully exercising their free speech rights, and moved to dismiss the suit against them. Lindell, who along with his company have also been sued by Dominion for his election fraud claims, has countersued for defamation.
Though Dominion serves 28 states, until the 2020 election it had been largely unknown outside the election community.
It is now widely targeted in conservative circles, seen by millions of people as one of the main villains in a fictional tale in which Democrats nationwide conspired to steal votes from Trump, Dominion said in its lawsuit against Fox News. The firm has said some of its employees have faced harassment and even death threats.
Dominion's defamation lawsuits
Dominion voting systems has already gone after a number of individuals and news networks who they say defamed them with claims that they rigged the 2020 presidential election in favor of President Biden. They've identified more than 150 for potential litigation.
Who they've sued: Who they've threatened to sue:
Fox News
One America News
Newsmax
Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal attorney
David Byrne, Overstock.com founder
Sidney Powell, Pro-Trump attorney
Mike Lindell, MyPillow CEO
Epoch Times
Sean Hannity, Fox News host
Rush Limbaugh, late conservative commentator
Pat Cipollone, fmr. White House counsel
Maria Bartiromo, Fox News host
Greg Kelly, Newsmax host
Lin Wood, pro-Trump attorney
Melissa Carone, Giuliani witness
Jenna Ellis, Trump campaign attorney
Dan Bongino, right wing commentator
Jeanine Pirro, Fox News host