Judge refuses to drop $2.7 billion Smartmatic lawsuit against Giuliani and other Trump allies

A federal judge in New York has ruled that Smartmatic can move forward with its pursuit of a defamation lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch's Fox News Network, former President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani, and a number of his post-election allies, including Sidney Powell.

The network and individuals named in the lawsuit had falsely accused the company of aiding President Joe Biden in winning the presidential election. According to Reuters, Justice David Cohen of the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, struck down attempts by Murdoch, Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo and former Fox anchor Lou Dobbs as they requested the dismissal of the lawsuit naming them.

In his 61-page ruling, Cohen pointed out that Giuliani appeared to be responsible for a "'barrage' of criticism, including that Smartmatic fixed elections in Venezuela and was up to its 'old tricks' on election night, justified letting some claims against him proceed."

Per the report, Cohen said, "Smartmatic can pursue some claims against Giuliani, who worked as a lawyer for former Republican President Donald Trump. He dismissed all claims against Fox host Jeanine Pirro and former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell."

Cohen also noted that he "'found' a 'substantial basis' for the claim that Fox News 'turned a blind eye to a litany of outrageous claims about [Smartmatic], unprecedented in the history of American elections, so inherently improbable that it evinced a reckless disregard for the truth.'"

Smartmatic argued that those involved crafted a defaming campaign that labeled it as the "villain" by perpetuating Trump's dangerous, false claims about the presidential election. Smartmatic insists Fox News continued with its falsehoods to "boost ratings, cater to Trump supporters, and avoid losing viewers to smaller, right-wing networks Newsmax and One America News."

Despite the false claims that had been circulated, the Florida-based electronic voting system company insists they only provided services to Los Angeles County, Calif.

Howard Kleinhendler, Powell's lawyer, said she is "confident that any subsequent litigation by Smartmatic or others will reach the same result."