Smartmatic's lawsuit against Fox has subpoenaed former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg

Former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg, who alleged that she was coerced into giving misleading testimony as part of the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit against Fox about its handling of election fraud claims, has been subpoenaed in a separate lawsuit by a voting technology company against Fox.

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In a subpoena obtained on Monday, Smartmatic Inc. demanded that Abby Grossberg produce extensive documentation and communications regarding the claims aired on Fox regarding the 2020 presidential election, as well as extensive records of their communication surrounding the claims. There are several potential shreds of evidence and correspondence that are cited specifically in the subpoena, including those related to Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, the Trump Campaign, and the Trump Organization. 

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The New York Supreme Court is considering a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit filed by Smartmatic against Fox over claims of defamation. There is no connection between Dominion and Smartmatic, as alleged by allies of former president Donald Trump, such as the former mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani, even though these are two separate companies that are not associated with each other. 

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A number of allegations have been debunked in a number of ways and shown to be unfounded as well as having no basis in fact against Dominion and Smartmatic. The only role Smartmatic played in the 2020 presidential election was to provide voting technology and software to Los Angeles County in order to make the election run smoothly.

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In the Dominion lawsuit filed in Delaware on March 31, the judge ruled that the case should be tried at trial and that the claims made by Fox about election fraud were false and ruled that the case should go to trial. “The evidence developed in this civil proceeding” establishes that it “is CRYSTAL clear that none of the statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true.” Bolding, capitalization and italics were used in the ruling.

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As a result of the Smartmatic subpoena, Grossberg's lawyer Parisis Filippatos told Trade Algo that his client intends to fully comply with it, and said it orders Grossberg to submit documentary evidence concerning Fox News' alleged malice, which is currently in her possession. Furthermore, Grossberg's attorneys have pointed out that while she had already provided documents and communications to Fox News during her tenure at the company, these documents and communications "do not appear to have been provided to the Delaware Superior Court before the court made its decision on March 31."

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Grossberg was employed by Fox News from the beginning of 2019 until the 24th of March. In her lawsuit against Fox, she alleged that she had been forced into giving misleading testimony in a deposition in Dominion's $1.6 billion libel suit, as well as being made into a scapegoat for the network's coverage of the election. She was fired shortly after filing the lawsuit. According to Fox, she was fired due to the fact that she divulged privileged information.

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Fox News has been informed by Smartmatic that it has not been notified of any subpoena issued to Ms. Grossberg in connection with that case. Regarding the Dominion case, Fox News is not aware of what Ms. Grossberg's attorney is referring to, and we have complied with our discovery obligation," according to a Fox News spokesperson.

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A spokesperson for Smartmatic commented, “We are confident that we will win this case as freedom of the press is at the very heart of our democracy and must be protected, while the damages claims made in this case are outrageous, unsupported, and not grounded in sound financial analysis, and serve nothing more than a flagrant attempt to deter our journalists from performing their duties.” 

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As Fox News reported at the beginning of the month, the company will continue to vigorously defend the company against [Grossberg's] unmeritorious legal claims, which are laden with false allegations relating to the network and its employees.

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It's the First Amendment protection of the media's right to cover the news that's at the heart of the Dominion case, and Fox has said as much by saying, "The case is ultimately about how the media must cover the news. Fox will continue to vigorously advocate for the right to free speech and freedom of the press."

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Fox had indicated to the court as recently as March 28 that Grossberg was going to be called as a witness in the Dominion case. As a result of her legal motions to unseal the September 14, 2022, deposition testimony, Dominion reversed that decision and has indicated that it intends to call her as a witness in the coming months.