Rudolph Giuliani sues Smartmatic to recoup legal fees in Fox News
lawsuit
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[June 15, 2022]
By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Rudolph Giuliani has
sued Smartmatic to recoup legal fees as he defends against its $2.7
billion lawsuit accusing him, Fox News Network and others of falsely
claiming that the company helped rig the 2020 U.S. presidential election
so Joe Biden would defeat Donald Trump.
In a counterclaim filed late Monday in a New York state court in
Manhattan, Giuliani said the voting machine company's defamation
lawsuit, which he characterized as baseless, interfered with his
constitutional right to speak freely on issues of public concern.
"Smartmatic's litigation tactics, including its facially implausible
damages claims, are a naked attempt to attack a well-known public
figure" and amount to censorship, said Giuliani, a former New York City
mayor and lawyer for Trump.
J. Erik Connolly, a lawyer for Smartmatic, said: "Smartmatic is
confident in its claims against Mr. Giuliani."
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Jun/15/images/ads/current/graue_21CAMARO_100421.png)
Fox News and two other defendants, Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo
and former anchor Lou Dobbs, have filed similar counterclaims citing New
York's "anti-SLAPP" law, short for "strategic lawsuits against public
participation."
They and Giuliani, as well as Smartmatic, are appealing parts of a March
8 decision by state Supreme Court Justice David Cohen allowing most of
Smartmatic's lawsuit to proceed.
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![](../images/061522PIX/news_a67.jpg)
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks about the 20th
anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, during an appearance
on the John Catsimatidis radio show in New York City, New York,
U.S., September 10, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Jun/15/images/ads/current/heartland_lda_NOV2021.png)
Smartmatic claimed that Fox News, part of Rupert
Murdoch's Fox Corp, decimated its business with a bogus narrative
that its election software helped Biden, a Democrat, steal the
election from Trump, a Republican.
The Boca Raton, Florida-headquartered company said Fox News did this
to cater to Trump supporters, boost ratings and keep viewers from
defecting to smaller right-wing rivals Newsmax and One America News.
Smartmatic faulted Giuliani for saying without evidence that the
company was formed by people close to Venezuelan President Nicolas
Maduro and his late predecessor Hugo Chavez, and founded "for the
specific purpose of fixing elections."
In his decision, Cohen found a substantial basis to suggest that Fox
News had "turned a blind eye to a litany of outrageous claims" about
Smartmatic, with reckless disregard for the truth.
Giuliani has had his New York law license suspended and faces ethics
charges in Washington over his election claims.
The case is Smartmatic USA Corp et al v Fox Corp et al, New York
State Supreme Court, New York County, No. 151136/2021.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Jonathan
Oatis and Richard Pullin)
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