Washington DC - Newsmax is to pay $67 million to a voting technology firm over false claims the pro-Trump cable television channel made about the 2020 presidential election.

The settlement of the defamation case brought by Dominion Voting Systems was announced in a filing by Newsmax on Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Under the settlement agreement, Newsmax said it had paid Dominion $27 million on Friday and would pay $20 million in 2026 and the final $20 million in 2027.

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The Rupert Murdoch-owned Fox News settled a similar defamation lawsuit with Dominion in 2023 for $787.5 million.

Dominion filed a defamation suit against Newsmax in 2021 over false claims that its voting technology was used to rig the 2020 election, in which Democrat Joe Biden defeated Republican Donald Trump.

Dominion sought $1.6 billion in damages.

In a statement, Newsmax said it had agreed to settle because it did not believe it could receive a fair trial from the Delaware judge presiding over the case.

"The pattern of judicial rulings that consistently denied Newsmax due process left the Company to believe it would not receive a fair trial," Newsmax said. "Faced with these rulings and other constraints, Newsmax chose to settle the case."

"Newsmax has always maintained that its reporting was not defamatory and that its coverage was consistent with accepted journalistic standards," the company said.

"We stand by our coverage as fair, balanced, and conducted within professional standards of journalism," it added.