The Fox cable propaganda network, part of Rupert Murdoch’s media network, filed a motion with New York state courts to reverse a lower court ruling allowing Smartmatic’s defamation suit to continue, Reuters reports.
The network claimed that the $2.7 billion in damages sought by Smartmatic is “pure fiction.” It submitted a report by a University of Chicago law professor claiming that Smartmatic was a “failing enterprise” that was tens of millions of dollars in debt.
Fox also countersued Smartmatic to try to recoup legal fees. “New York’s anti-SLAPP statute was made for lawsuits like this one,” Fox claimed in the filing. “The best way to deter baseless attacks on the freedoms of speech and efforts to chill the press is to provide robust protection for speech on matters of public concern.”