Smartmatic vs. Fox: Both sides accuse each other of deleting text evidence

An update on a high-profile defamation case between Fox News and the election software company Smartmatic

According to a new court filing, Fox News is accusing Smartmatic of deleting evidence related to the case

just days after Smartmatic likewise accused Fox of deleting text evidence. And now Fox News is asking the judge to sanction Smartmatic

Smartmatic is suing Fox News for $2.7 billion. Damages the voting tech company says it's owed after Fox News defamed them in its 2020 election coverage

And as a result, the company says it lost business. Earlier this week, we told you Smartmatic accused Fox News executives of deleting text evidence in an earlier court filing

writing Fox has eliminated contemporaneous texts that would have revealed further evidence of what

Fox executives knew about the falsity of their broadcast and why Fox continued airing them

anyway. A Fox News spokesperson refuted Smartmatic's claims. Now in the latest court filing this week

Fox News is asking the judge to impose sanctions on the company over its claim that nearly two

dozen Smartmatic executives are the ones who deleted WhatsApp text messaging evidence Fox News filing obtained by Straight Arrow News read in part nearly two dozen Smartmatic executives and sales personnel deleted data relevant to Smartmatic multi dollar damages claims either shortly before or while this case was pending

For many witnesses, the spoliation is pervasive and resulted in the apparent deletion of all or nearly all of their mobile data

Smartmatic's lawyers have since denied the allegations in a media statement. At the center of the case is Fox News' coverage of claims the 2020 election was stolen

and the security of voting machines were thrown into question. Smartmatic says the coverage was damaging to their brand

while Fox News says the claims at the time were plausible and newsworthy

Ann says Smartmatic was already a business in decline over a federal bribery and money laundering indictment

This case has been ongoing since February of 2021, and this week, more court filings from both sides accusing the other of deleting key evidence shows a contentious battle to come

As of now, no trial date has been set by the courts. Thanks for watching our news update

If you missed our report earlier in the week detailing claims made by Smartmatic in its earlier filing, you can find that full story by searching Smartmatic defamation case on the Straight Arrow News mobile app today