'They must comply': Newsmax employees subpoenaed in Smartmatic defamation lawsuit

26 June 2023

Newsmax has prided itself on being to the right of Fox News and more pro-Donald Trump than Fox News. But Newsmax's obsessive loyalty to Trump has had major financial repercussions for the Fox competitor, which, like Fox, has been sued for defamation by Dominion Voting Systems and Dominion competitor Smartmatic for promoting the false and thoroughly debunked conspiracy theory that their voting equipment was used to help President Joe Biden steal the 2020 election.

Under the U.S. Supreme Court's 1964 ruling in New York Times v. Sullivan, defamation is extreme difficult to prove. But in April, Fox News reached a settlement with Dominion, agreeing to pay $787.5 million. Fox News, however, is still being sued by Smartmatic, and Smartmatic's defamation lawsuit against Newsmax continues as well.

In an article published by Rolling Stone on June 25, journalist Diana Falzone reports that Smartmatic has "subpoenaed several of the right-wing cable network's current and former employees for work and personal correspondence."

Falzone reports, "Several Newsmax insiders, who spoke with Rolling Stone under a condition of anonymity due to a fear of reprisal, said that roughly three weeks ago, they were told to hand over 'mirror images of their personal cell phone, personal e-mail, and iCloud' as Smartmatic's lawsuit against the network moves forward…. The Newsmax staffers who have been slapped with subpoenas for their texts and e-mails are not happy, telling Rolling Stone that the company has threatened to fire them if they don’t comply with the subpoenas."

One of the Newsmax employees told Rolling Stone, "Originally, when Newsmax asked us to do this, they said it wasn't compulsory, but now, due to the subpoena, if we don't comply, they have threatened our jobs. They basically said that if we don't hand it over, it prevents them from sufficiently being able to defend themselves in court, which in turn, could be seen as hurting the company — which is grounds for potential termination."

The Newsmax employee continued, "This is a civil lawsuit between two corporation. At no point should our personal data come into play. This goes beyond a violation of privacy. It is an invasion."

Another Newsmax employee told Rolling Stone, "It's a common sentiment among the network's staff. Many of us don't believe it's right to give our employer access to all of our personal privacy when we had nothing to do with the decision-making process. It's a major violation of privacy."

But another Newsmax employee defended Newsmax's management, telling Rolling Stone that complying with a subpoena is not optional — it is mandatory.

That employee argued, "They must comply if they've been subpoenaed. Newsmax would have no choice but to fire them if they don't comply with a court order.”

Read Rolling Stone's full report at this link (subscription required).

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