Newsmax, the conservative cable news network, has agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $67 million to settle a high-profile defamation lawsuit over its coverage of the 2020 presidential election. The settlement, disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing on August 15, 2025, brings an end to a legal battle that had threatened to put Newsmax’s editorial practices under a harsh spotlight in a Delaware courtroom this fall. The agreement marks another major chapter in the ongoing legal reckoning for media outlets that amplified false claims of election fraud following Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump.
According to the SEC filing, Newsmax will pay the $67 million settlement in three installments: $27 million immediately, $20 million on or before January 15, 2026, and the final $20 million on or before January 15, 2027. The lawsuit, originally filed in August 2021, accused Newsmax of having "manufactured, endorsed, repeated, and broadcast a series of verifiably false yet devastating lies about Dominion" during and after the 2020 election, as reported by ABC News and The New York Times.
Dominion’s complaint outlined how Newsmax gave a platform to conspiracy theories, including baseless allegations that Dominion had rigged the election and paid kickbacks to government officials. These claims, described in court documents as “outlandish and far-fetched fictions,” were repeated by several prominent pro-Trump guests and on-air personalities. As CNN noted, Dominion was at the center of a storm of misinformation that swept through conservative media after the 2020 vote count.
Before the settlement, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis, who presided over the case, had already ruled that Newsmax defamed Dominion by airing false information about the company and its equipment. However, Judge Davis left it to a jury to determine whether Newsmax acted with "actual malice"—a crucial legal standard in defamation cases involving public figures—and, if so, how much Dominion deserved in damages. The trial was scheduled for the fall of 2025, but the agreement between the parties averted what was expected to be a closely watched and potentially damaging courtroom showdown.
In a statement provided to CBS News and other outlets, a Dominion spokesperson said simply, “We are pleased to have settled this matter.” Newsmax, for its part, has continued to deny any wrongdoing, insisting that its 2020 election coverage was “fair, balanced, and conducted within professional standards of journalism.” On its website, the network defended its reporting as essential to informing the American public about both sides of the election disputes. Newsmax also issued sharp criticism of Judge Davis, asserting—without providing evidence—that he “would not provide a fair trial” and that his rulings had “limited Newsmax’s ability to defend itself.”
Judge Davis, who was also responsible for overseeing Dominion’s earlier, landmark $787.5 million settlement with Fox News, has been widely praised by court watchers and First Amendment scholars for his impartiality and rigorous approach. As CNN reported, Davis was promoted to president judge of the Delaware Superior Court earlier this year, with the state’s governor commending his “fair and balanced approach to the law.”
Internal documents unearthed during the litigation revealed that Newsmax executives and hosts were aware that the election fraud claims being aired were baseless. In one text message, Newsmax owner Chris Ruddy described as “scary” the fact that Donald Trump was meeting with attorney Sidney Powell, a prominent promoter of conspiracy theories about Dominion. Another internal exchange, cited by CBS News, featured Newsmax host Bob Sellers asking, “How long are we going to play along with election fraud?” just days after Biden was declared the winner.
Despite these internal misgivings, Newsmax continued to give airtime to guests who pushed elaborate and unfounded theories, including one suggesting that the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had helped rig Dominion’s machines. The network did eventually air a clarification segment in December 2020, stating it had no evidence that Dominion manipulated any votes.
The settlement with Dominion is not Newsmax’s first brush with legal peril over its election coverage. Last year, the network agreed to pay $40 million to Smartmatic, another voting technology company, to settle a similar defamation suit. Fox News, a much larger conservative media outlet, reached its own $787.5 million settlement with Dominion in April 2023, just as a jury was being sworn in for trial. As CNN pointed out, Newsmax’s TV ratings are roughly one-tenth those of Fox, making the $67 million payout a significant financial blow.
The lawsuits and settlements come against the backdrop of Donald Trump’s persistent—and thoroughly debunked—claims of widespread election fraud. Despite losing dozens of court challenges, including before judges he appointed, Trump has continued to insist the election was stolen. On August 18, 2025, just days after the Newsmax settlement was disclosed, Trump vowed in a social media post to eliminate mail-in ballots and voting machines like those supplied by Dominion ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. “I am going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, and also, while we’re at it, Highly ‘Inaccurate,’ Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES,” Trump wrote, echoing the same themes that fueled the defamation suits in the first place.
Election officials from both parties, as well as Trump’s own attorney general William Barr, have repeatedly stated that there was no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. Numerous recounts, audits, and reviews—including those led by Republicans—have confirmed Biden’s victory and found no significant irregularities. Nevertheless, the “big lie” about the election’s legitimacy has persisted in some corners of the media and political landscape, with costly consequences for those who gave it a megaphone.
As for the legal landscape, while Dominion’s settlement with Newsmax closes one chapter, other lawsuits continue to move through the courts. Fox News is still fighting a defamation suit brought by Smartmatic, and other smaller cases related to 2020 election misinformation remain unresolved.
With the Newsmax settlement, Dominion has now secured over $850 million in damages from major conservative media outlets for the role they played in spreading falsehoods about the company and the 2020 election. The sheer scale of these settlements has sent shockwaves through the media industry, serving as a stark warning about the real-world costs of broadcasting unsubstantiated conspiracy theories. For Newsmax, the financial and reputational toll of this saga will likely linger for years to come.
