Newsmax anchor Rob Finnerty pulled the plug on a Monday morning interview after guest David Litt hijacked the segment to call out the network for being forced to retract its false election claims about Dominion Voting Systems.
Litt, a former speechwriter for Barack Obama, was ostensibly booked on Newsmax’s Wake Up America to discuss Elon Musk’s Saturday Night Live appearance. Litt, however, had other plans.
“What happened on SNL this weekend was that people made stuff up, and then said it on television like it’s true,” he declared. “And that actually happens pretty frequently on American TV.”
ADVERTISEMENT
With a sly smile, Litt added: “For example, in 2020, Dominion Voting Systems sued Newsmax over its false claims about election fraud. Newsmax was lying to its own viewers, and Newsmax had to settle that lawsuit. So actually, I just need to check-in: Are you still telling that lie or are you telling new lies?”
Taken aback and a bit peeved, Finnerty asked if Litt wanted to “talk about something completely non-related” and catch him “totally off-topic” or go back to discussing Musk hosting Saturday Night Live.
“Well, I could see why you don’t want to talk about Dominion Voting Systems. Because if you do, Newsmax could get sued and lose billions of dollars, because these are lies,” Litt proudly fired back.
“I know this is a very funny moment for you,” Finnerty grumbled. “I’m sure you didn’t sleep last night as you prepared to try and sort of ‘get’ the morning anchor on Newsmax. I’d be happy to talk with you about whatever you want to talk about. Obviously, it’s not the topic that we have set up for right now.”
Finnerty then attempted to deliver an ultimatum to his guest.
“So if you’d like to talk about Saturday Night Live, I will do that with you,” the anchor huffed. “But obviously, I’m not gonna talk about anything else right now. So you decide right now, in this moment on live television, go ahead.”
Not missing a beat, Litt continued on his mission.
“Did Dominion Voting Systems have any impact on the 2020 election?” Litt asked, prompting the network to immediately cut his feed.
Saying that it was “unfortunate” that they dumped Litt, Finnerty sarcastically noted that “we look forward to having him back on very soon again—that was a stellar interview.”
Litt, of course, was trying to get Finnerty to address on-air the recent retraction that Newsmax published in order to settle a lawsuit filed by Dominion employee Eric Coomer. On April 30, Coomer withdrew his lawsuit after reaching a settlement with the network, which included the company issuing an apology.
“On behalf of Newsmax, we would like to apologize for any harm that our reporting of the allegations against Dr. Coomer may have caused to Dr. Coomer and his family,” the network published alongside a statement that said there was “no evidence” Coomer was involved in any widespread voter fraud or manipulation.
Dominion and Smartmatic, another voting software company, have filed billion-dollar lawsuits against a variety of right-wing media outlets and conservative figures over baseless accusations that the firms’ machines “flipped” millions of votes from Donald Trump to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
Late last year, Newsmax attempted to avoid legal action from Smartmatic by running a series of on-air fact-checks and publishing a statement on its website. The network has also tried to curb any of its guests from diving into voting-machine conspiracies, resulting in one anchor infamously walking out of a live interview with pro-Trump pillow salesman Mike Lindell.
