A state judge in New York ruled that voting software company Smartmatic’s $2.7 billion lawsuit against Fox News to proceed on Tuesday. Smartmatic has alleged that Giuliani, ex-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, and several Fox stars “created a story about Smartmatic,” using network airtime to “defame and disparage Smartmatic and its election technology and software” with debunked conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election. In a 61-page decision issued Monday, State Supreme Court Judge David Cohen rejected bids by Fox and hosts Maria Bartiromo and Lou Dobbs to get Smartmatic’s claims dismissed. Cohen dismissed some, but not all, claims against Rudy Giuliani, and all of the claims aimed at Powell and Fox News host Jeanine Pirro.
