The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Friday, Aug. 9, the indictment of three current and former executives of Smartmatic, the voting technology company suing right-wing media outlets over 2020 election coverage. Prosecutors said executives used a slush fund to bribe the former top election official in the Philippines, Andy Bautista, in exchange for “obtaining and retaining” business related to providing voting machines and services for the country’s 2016 elections.
The bribes allegedly involved at least $1 million.
Bautista, who is indicted in another U.S. case, is in hiding. However, he did respond to the indictment on the social media platform X. In his post, he said that he is innocent, and the charges are politically motivated by Philippine officials.
Smartmatic also responded to the indictment by saying that the current employees indicted have been placed on leave but “remain innocent until proven guilty.” The company maintained that the charges do not involve voter fraud and the business itself is not indicted.
Smartmatic is currently suing several media personalities and news outlets, including Fox News and Newsmax, in a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit over commentary that falsely accused the company of helping steal the 2020 election from former President Donald Trump.
Both Fox News and Newsmax deny defaming anyone and argue that their election coverage is protected under the First Amendment.
While the media outlets did not respond to this latest indictment, lawyers for Fox News have previously argued during the criminal probe by the Justice Department that prosecution against top Smartmatic executives would harm the company’s public reputation and make it harder for Smartmatic to claim it is solely damaged by false accusations during the 2020 election.
The Newsmax-Smartmatic trial is set for September. Smartmatic’s case against Fox News isn’t expected to begin until next year.
