Fox News and Newsmax, facing lawsuits, walk back wild fraud claims about voting-machine companies

Facing the threat of lawsuits for defamation, Fox News and the upstart right-wing network Newsmax have begun broadcasting segments walking back wild election fraud allegations against voting-machine and software manufacturers Smartmatic and Dominion.

“Newsmax would like to clarify its news coverage and note that it has not reported as true certain claims made about these companies,” host John Tabacco said Monday, attributing the “opinions and claims” to “various guests, attorneys and elected officials” who appeared on the network. The charges, which the companies say are baseless and have been widely mocked as ridiculous, originated with former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, who accused the two companies of conspiring with Democrats and the Venezuelan government to tip the election to Joe Biden.