Presumed Guilt Precipitated the Dominion Voting Machine Settlements

Newsmax and Fox say they settled defamation claims brought by Dominion Voting Systems Corp. because they couldn't get a fair trial from a Democratic-appointed Delaware Superior Court judge.

The settlement of a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems against Newsmax Media Inc, coming on the heels of a similar settlement in 2023 by Fox News, is hardly good news for the media.

The press has an obligation and a right to report the news. The Newsmax and Fox settlements will pierce the First Amendment shield that protects journalists and media outlets. The extent of the damage remains to be seen.

It was news that top Republican leaders questioned whether Dominion Voting Systems machines flipped votes for GOP candidate Donald J. Trump to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

Just a few months prior to the 2020 election, several Democratic U.S. Senators sent a letter to Dominion raising concerns about “known vulnerabilities” in Dominion voting machines. They cited outdated software, foreign supply chains for machine components, and insufficient cybersecurity measures.

There was reason to be concerned.

So why did Newsmax announce on Monday that it would pay $67 million to settle a $1.6 billion lawsuit defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion against the conservative news outlet?

And why did Fox News settle a similar Dominion defamation lawsuit in 2023 for $787.5 million?

Fox and Newsmax say they settled because they couldn’t get a fair trial from Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis.

In a statement, Newsmax contended: “From the very beginning, Judge Davis ruled in ways that strongly favored the plaintiffs and limited Newsmax’s ability to defend itself.”

Newsmax said it simply reported allegations made by well-known figures, including the President, his advisors, and members of Congress. Newsmax argued it’s reporting clearly constituted protected speech under the First Amendment.

It is highly unusual for a litigant to accuse a judge of favoritism, which is a serious violation of judicial ethical rules.

Who is Judge Davis?

Judge Davis was nominated to a state judgeship by Delaware Democratic Governor Jack Markell in 2012. In March, he became the President Judge of the Delaware Superior Court.

Though there is no known link between President Biden and Judge Davis, Biden was a U.S. Senator in Delaware for 36 years and is still an important political influence in the predominantly Democratic state.

Judge Davis was the judge in both the Newsmax and Fox News cases.

Controversial Pretrial Rulings …

Newsmax does not go into detail about how Judge Davis allegedly undermined its case, but attorneys for Fox News painted a vivid picture, stating Judge Davis used pretrial rulings to reject Fox’s defenses and to find as a matter of law that critical statements about Dominion voting machines were false.

Two of Judge Davis’ rulings were particularly devastating to Fox: