'Another crisis is building' at Fox News as second defamation lawsuit gets green light for trial

A defamation lawsuit against Fox News by voting machine company Smartmatic appears to be headed to trial after the New York Supreme Court gave the green light last week.

An analysis by The Guardian found that the $2.7 billion lawsuit could be "more dangerous" than the $1.6 billion lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems. In both cases, Fox News personalities are accused of falsely claiming President Joe Biden won the election because of a voting machine conspiracy.

"The Earth is round. Two plus two equals four," Smartmatic's 2021 complaint began. "Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the 2020 election for President and Vice President of the United States. The election was not stolen, rigged, or fixed. These are facts. They are demonstrable and irrefutable."

The complaint also noted: "Defendants did not want Biden to win the election. They wanted President Trump to win re-election … They also saw an opportunity to capitalize on President Trump’s popularity by inventing a story.”

Over 100 false claims were made about Smartmatic on Fox News, the complaint said.

In its Friday ruling, New York's high court declined to dismiss defendants Fox News, host Maria Bartiromo, and former host Lou Dobbs. Fox News host Jeanine Pirro and attorney Sidney Powell were dismissed from the lawsuit.