Lawyers spar over evidence ahead of Smartmatic’s election defamation case against Newsmax
A Newsmax microphone is seen during the third day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, July 17, 2024. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Attorneys for the voting machine company Smartmatic and the cable channel Newsmax argued at a hearing Monday over evidence and witnesses expected to be presented when Smartmatic’s defamation case against the news channel goes to trial later this month.
Smartmatic has accused Newsmax of publishing dozens of false reports claiming that Smartmatic helped rig the 2020 election. Newsmax has argued, in part, that they were reporting on newsworthy claims of fraud.
Howard Cooper, an attorney for Newsmax, argued at Monday’s hearing that the news channel should be able to introduce videos of broadcast segments that he says rebut Smartmatic’s argument that “Newsmax took this position of election fraud [and] not calling the election” for winner Joe Biden.
“One of the ways that we can rebut that theory is by showing shows that were contrary to President Trump’s position,” Cooper said of former President Donald Trump, who falsely claimed there had been massive election fraud.
The two sides also argued over the inclusion of witnesses who would testify about whether Newsmax, in the course of its reporting, reached out to Smartmatic — or instead only reached out to Dominion, another voting machine company that was falsely accused of wrongdoing.
Dominion, in a separate case last year, reached a $787 million settlement with Fox News in a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit.
Newsmax officials have said under oath that the company contacted or attempted to contact Smartmatic during its coverage of the election and its aftermath.
“We’re not disputing that Dominion and Smartmatic are not the same,” said an attorney for Newsmax. “Some of these Newsmax personnel did get to contact Dominion. It is relevant to the case. It’s relevant to their state of mind.”
“I’d love for you to make that argument if I’m on the other side,” Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said in response. “Here is the executive producer of this show, and he doesn’t know the difference between Exxon and Chevron.”
After a lengthy argument about other types of evidence the parties would like to introduce at the trial, the judge reviewed the potential witness list and emphasized the need for clear and concise jury instructions.
At one point during the hearing, an attorney for Newsmax requested permission to depose Smartmatic’s damages expert, arguing that the expert’s “reports and charts” on the damages have changed frequently.
“I would only add they were looking for somewhere, and we don’t know yet, between $400 and $600 million in this case,” an attorney for Newsmax said, criticizing “the idea that we would go to a trial without having a full opportunity to do an up-to-date examination of their damages expert.”
An attorney for Smartmatic pushed back, saying that Newsmax attorneys have previously deposed the expert and that “none of the information has changed.”
Judge Davis said he would rule soon on each of the motions.
The trial is scheduled to begin on Sept. 30 in Delaware.
(NEW YORK) — Jimmy Carter will turn 100 years old on Oct. 1.
The former president of the United States will reach the milestone birthday, about 20 months since entering home hospice care in February 2023.
Carter’s late wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Carter, died on Nov. 19, 2023, two days after the Carter family announced publicly that their matriarch had started hospice care as well. She was later honored at a memorial service held at Emory University’s Glenn Memorial Church in Atlanta, where Jimmy Carter made a rare appearance.
“Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” former President Jimmy Carter said in a statement at the time. “She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”
Rosalynn Carter had been diagnosed with dementia in her final year of life.
The Carters were, and Jimmy Carter remains the head of a large extended family. Get to know their beloved children below.
Meet Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter’s family:
Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter, who were married for 77 years, had four children: three sons — John William, James Earl III, Donnel Jeffrey — and one daughter, Amy Lynn.
In addition to their four children, the Carters were grandparents of 12 (one deceased) and great-grandparents to 14 children, according to the Jimmy Carter Library.
The Carters grew up together as neighbors and schoolmates in Plains, Georgia and went on to become the longest-married couple in presidential history. They married on July 7, 1946.
Jimmy Carter told ABC News in 2021 that the key to their long and happy marriage included taking the time to both “share as much as we possibly can” and giving each other permission to pursue separate interests.
“We’ve survived this long together because first of all, we give each other plenty of space to do our own thing,” he said at the time.
“We’re always looking to do things or find things we can do together, like fly fishing and bird watching and just going out to the pond,” Rosalynn Carter also added.
Learn more about the Carters’ children:
Jack Carter
Jack Carter was born in Virginia in July 1947, nearly a year after his parents’ marriage.
He owns an investment company and lives in Las Vegas.
The eldest Carter son was previously a lawyer and a businessman and in 2016, followed his father’s footsteps into politics. He ran as a Democratic candidate for the Senate in Nevada but lost to incumbent Republican Sen. John Ensign.
He was previously married to Juliette “Judy” Langford and they share two children – son Jason James and daughter Sarah Rosemary, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia, which is run by the University of Georgia. Jack Carter has been married to Elizabeth Brasfield since 1992.
Jason Carter delivered the eulogy at the memorial service of his late grandmother Rosalynn Carter.
Chip Carter
James Earl Carter III, named after his father, was born in Hawaii in April 1950.
The second Carter son also grew up in his father’s hometown of Plains but in a 2008 interview with the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, he said his nickname Chip was given to him while he was still in Honolulu.
“‘Chip’ is Hawaiian for ‘baby’ and my blue armband when I was born had ‘Chip Carter’ written on it, which meant ‘baby Carter’ and that’s how I got the name Chip,” he said.
Chip Carter was married in 1973 to Caron Griffin and they had a son named James Earl Carter IV. The couple divorced in 1980. Chip Carter would later marry Ginger Hodges and they had a daughter named Margaret Alicia Carter. Today, Chip Carter is married to Becky Payne, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia.
Chip Carter welcomed guests to the late Rosalynn Carter’s memorial service and called his mother his “hero.”
“I will always love my mother. I will cherish how she and Dad raised their children. They’d given us such a great example of how a couple should relate. Let me finish by saying that my mother, Rosalynn Carter, was the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met and pretty to look at, too. Thank you,” he said.
Jeff Carter
Donnel Jeffrey Carter is the youngest son and third child of the former president and former first lady.
Jeff Carter was born in August 1952 in Connecticut and attended Georgia Southwestern State University, where he would meet his future wife, the late Annette Davis Carter.
The couple married in 1975, lived at the White House and, later, had three children – sons Joshua, Jeremy and James. Jeremy Carter died in 2015 after an apparent heart attack, according to the biography “His Very Best Jimmy Carter, a Life,” by Jonathan Alter.
Amy Carter
Amy Lynn Carter is the youngest of the Carter kids and was born in Plains in October 19, 1967.
Amy was one of the speakers at her late mother’s memorial service and read letters her father Jimmy had written to her mother Rosalynn.
“My mom spent most of her life in love with my dad. Their partnership and love story was a defining feature of her life,” Amy Carter said. “Because he isn’t able to speak to you today. I am going to share some of his words about loving and missing her.”
“This is from a letter he wrote 75 years ago while he was serving in the Navy. ‘My darling, every time I have ever been away from you, I have been thrilled when I returned to discover just how wonderful you are. While I’m away, I try to convince myself that you really are not, could not be as sweet and beautiful as I remember. But when I see you, I fall in love with you all over again. Does that seem strange to you? It doesn’t to me. Goodbye, darling. Until tomorrow, Jimmy,'” she finished.
Amy Carter spent her young teenage years in the White House when her father was president and her mother was first lady, between 1977 and 1981.
In 1996, Amy Carter married James Wentzel and the couple had a son, Hugo James Wentzel, who was born on July 29, 1999. The couple later divorced and Amy Carter remarried Jay Kelly. They also welcomed a son, named Errol Carter Kelly.
In the summer of 2023, Hugo James Wentzel appeared on the second season of the reality competition show “Claim to Fame,” which features celebrity relatives, and revealed he was one of the Carters’ grandchildren.
“He’s an amazing grandpa, honestly. I love him so much. I call him Papa,” Wentzel said of the former president. “He led America and my family very well. I stand for everything he stands for. He believes in equality for everyone, regardless of race, class, gender, anything. He’s just an amazing person. I aspire to be like him one day.”
(NEW YORK) — A Pakistani national with ties to Iran pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges alleging he attempted to commit an act of terrorism and murder-for-hire as part of a scheme to assassinate former President Donald Trump.
The suspect, Asif Merchant, was ordered detained pending trial during the hearing in Brooklyn federal court.
Coincidentally, Merchant’s arraignment came the same day a different man — 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh — appeared in a Florida court to answer firearm charges connected to an unrelated apparent alleged attempt on Trump’s life.
Merchant was indicted on federal charges in August, after being previously arrested and charged by complaint the month prior. If convicted of the charges contained in the indictment, he faces up to life in prison.
ABC News has reached out to his attorney for comment.
“The Justice Department will not tolerate Iran’s efforts to target our country’s public officials and endanger our national security,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement following the indictment. “As these terrorism and murder for hire charges against Asif Merchant demonstrate, we will continue to hold accountable those who would seek to carry out Iran’s lethal plotting against Americans.”
After spending time in Iran, Merchant arrived in the United States from Pakistan in April and contacted a person he believed could assist him with the scheme to kill Trump, the complaint alleged. That person reported Merchant’s conduct to law enforcement and became a confidential source, according to the indictment.
Merchant sought to hire hitmen who could carry out the assassination of Trump and others, the indictment alleged. Merchant allegedly explained his plot involved multiple criminal schemes: stealing documents or USB drives from a target’s home; planning a protest; and killing a politician or government official, the indictment alleged.
Merchant met with the purported hitmen — who were in fact undercover U.S. law enforcement officers — in New York, according to the indictment. He allegedly told them they would receive instructions on who to kill either the last week of August or the first week of September, after Merchant had departed the U.S., according to the indictment.
After Merchant paid the $5,000 to the “hitmen,” the indictment quoted one of them saying, “Now we’re bonded,” to which Merchant allegedly responded, “Yes.” The undercover officer then stated, “Now we know we’re going forward. We’re doing this,” to which Merchant allegedly responded, “Yes, absolutely,” according to the indictment.
(NEW YORK) — A dog in Florida has been rescued by a team of firefighters after falling 14 feet into a cave in the middle of a field, authorities said.
The incident occurred at approximately 7:05 p.m. Monday when officials from Marion County Fire Rescue in Ocala, Florida, received a call from a distressed dog owner reporting that his dog Bella had fallen into a 14-foot hole and he was unable to get her out, according to a statement from MCFR released on Monday detailing the incident.
“Marion Oaks Engine #24 arrived on scene at 7:08pm, finding Bella trapped in the hole,” authorities said. “Engine #24 Captain established command and requested our Technical Rescue Team on Tower #2 from Belleview Station #18.”
Rescuers were able to set up their rig successfully and a firefighter was subsequently lowered into the cave in an attempt to rescue Bella.
“Firefighters removed her from the cave and returned her safely to her owner,” MCFR said in their statement.
It is unclear if the cave was signposted, but Bella looked thrilled to be out of trouble in pictures released by the fire department.
“Amazing work to save this dog. God Bless you all,” said one person commenting on MCFR’s social media post announcing the rescue.
“MCFR, thank you for saving this angel,” said another commenter. “I will be forever grateful for guys like you. God bless.”
