Fox News is fighting $2.7 billion Smartmatic defamation lawsuit by saying it should be allowed to repeat Trump's election fraud claims

The New York Times

Smartmatic accused Fox News and the anchors Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro of promoting falsehoods about the company and widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Fox News' has responded by claiming that its promoting the false claims about Smartmatic was part of its coverage of Trump's election fraud claims. “Smartmatic asks this court to become the first in history to hold the press liable for reporting allegations made by a sitting president and his lawyers, and to break that barrier in the context of one of the most newsworthy events imaginable: a contested presidential election,” Fox said in a filing on Monday. “This court should decline that First-Amendment-defying request.”