Tue, August 10, 2021, 8:16 AM
By Jan Wolfe and Tom Hals
(Reuters) -D******n V****g Systems Corp on Tuesday sued two conservative media networks, One America News Network and Newsmax Media Inc, saying they defamed the U.S. v****g machine company by spreading false claims that it r****d the 2020 e******n against then-U.S. President Donald Trump.
D******n also filed a lawsuit making similar allegations against businessman Patrick Byrne, the former chief executive of online retailer Overstock.com Inc.
The lawsuits are the latest legal actions taken by Denver-based D******n against Trump allies that amplified false theories about the firm.
In each of the three lawsuits filed on Monday, D******n is seeking more than $1.6 billion in damages, citing lost profits and other harms.
In a statement, Newsmax said, "While Newsmax has not reviewed the D******n filing, in its coverage of the 2020 P**********l e******ns, Newsmax simply reported on allegations made by well-known public figures, including the President, his advisors and members of Congress — D******n’s action today is a clear attempt to squelch such reporting and undermine a free press."
Fox made similar arguments in a May court filing asking a judge to dismiss the case against it, saying that news outlets "must be able to report both sides of a story involving claims striking at the core of our democracy."
Newsmax in April apologized to a D******n employee for baselessly alleging that he r****d the company's v**e counts against Trump. In exchange, the employee, Eric Coomer, dropped Newsmax from a defamation lawsuit.
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 e*******l f***d, claims that were rejected by multiple courts, state e******n officials and members of his own administration.
Trump allies, including lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, picked up an online conspiracy theory that D******n machines were used to hack the e******n, and made those baseless allegations during appearances on the conservative television stations.
Giuliani and Powell, who have also been sued by D******n, say they were lawfully exercising their free speech rights.
In a call with reporters, D******n attorney Stephen Shackelford of the Susman Godfrey law firm did not rule out suing Trump.
"We are still exploring options as to how to hold other participants in the campaign of lies accountable," Shackelford said.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/d******n-sues-newsmax-one-america-news-over-e******n-f***d-claims/ar-AAN9BZe?ocid=uxbndlbing