DOVER, Del. (AP) — A Delaware judge has ruled out the possibility of punitive damages in a defamation lawsuit pitting an electronic voting machine manufacturer targeted by allies of former President Donald Trump against a conservative news outlet that aired accusations of vote manipulation in the 2020 election. Monday’s ruling comes just days before jury selection is set to begin in a court battle between Florida-based Smartmatic and cable network Newsmax. Smartmatic says Newsmax program hosts and guests made false and defamatory statements in November and December 2020 implying that Smartmatic participated in rigging the results and that its software was used to switch votes. Newsmax says it was simply reporting on newsworthy allegations made by Trump and his supporters.
