How a Lawsuit Linking Dictators, Corruption, and Threesomes Might Cripple Fox News
Following a settlement with Newsmax, Smartmatic's CEO prepares for potential backlash and criticism.
TroibNews 
To counter a smear campaign based on falsehoods, Antonio Mugica, CEO of Smartmatic, the voting machine company, may find himself facing a different set of troubling narratives involving alleged corporate bribery, connections to a foreign dictator, and his participation in a dating app for non-traditional relationships, known as Feeld.
Mugica's firm endured a barrage of unfounded far-right conspiracy theories regarding a rigged 2020 election. Recently, he settled confidentially with Newsmax in his defamation suit against them, following another confidential resolution with OAN earlier this year. However, he is headed to court early next year for a $2.7 billion lawsuit against Fox News, stemming from false claims associated with former President Donald Trump's election defeat.
The situation isn't merely a legal battle; it is a contentious war of narratives, especially in the public eye.
Upon the announcement of the Newsmax settlement last Thursday, Smartmatic swiftly released a statement highlighting its commitment to combating “disinformation” in the upcoming Fox case. In response, Fox News raised an issue seemingly disconnected from the core defamation claims, accusing Smartmatic of having a president and co-founder, along with other executives, federally indicted for bribery concerning contracts in the Philippines.
This tactic mirrors Newsmax's strategy before their settlement, often diverting attention from the central topic of 2020. Earlier, the pro-Trump outlet condemned Smartmatic, branding it as “the preferred election company for Venezuela’s brutal Chavez/Maduro regime” and suggesting that a company with such “a sordid reputation” shouldn’t pursue a defamation claim against a media entity.
As the battle with Fox approaches, similar narratives are expected to surface.
Defamation suits rest on the foundational idea that the injured party possesses a reputation that can be tarnished and can prompt adversarial parties to air grievances in advance of trial.
Mugica's public relations team understands this well, which is likely why I found myself discussing not only election integrity with him last month but also more uncomfortable topics: the bribery allegations, supposed connections to the late Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, and his views on non-monogamy in relation to his investments in dating apps.
While these subjects appear to stray from questions of whether a news outlet has harmed Mugica's business through lies regarding the 2020 U.S. election, they intertwine more closely in practice.
A political trial today often resembles a political campaign, complete with communication experts, opposition research, and significant funding. Sources indicate that the litigation against Fox could cost Smartmatic over $100 million, which could be a worthwhile investment, particularly since Dominion Voting Systems achieved a nearly $1 billion settlement with Fox in a similar case the previous year.
“The business of power is messy,” Mugica said. “Politics is messy. It’s definitely an extreme sport. And unfortunately for us, we’re in the middle of it.”
To excel in this intense arena, he believes it’s crucial to address the unsavory narratives likely to arise as the trial date approaches.
Unlike the baseless allegations of election rigging, some of these narratives hold a grain of truth. Mugica's company indeed oversaw elections in Venezuela, including a controversial recall election that Chavez won. “There are a million reasons to criticize President Chavez,” Mugica said. “I think for me, the biggest one is, he destroyed the country. But one thing that he didn’t do is he didn’t tamper with these results.”
Conversely, when the opposition chose to boycott a national assembly election during Nicolás Maduro’s presidency, allowing the ruling party to go uncontested, Mugica exposed the regime's manipulation of voter turnout figures. “And, of course, immediately we were politically persecuted out of the country,” Mugica recalled, noting that many local employees were relocated. “I have never been able to return to Venezuela.”
He also mentioned that the Maduro regime defaulted on $100 million owed to Smartmatic and seized its local operations. His team argues that this history complicates attempts to frame him as a puppet of the dictatorship. Nonetheless, the Venezuela-related questions persist throughout Fox's legal filings.
The indictments in the Philippines, which garnered significant media attention, are also likely to resurface during the trial. Federal prosecutors alleged that three Smartmatic executives, including president and co-founder Roger Pinate, violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by attempting to channel $1 million to the head of the election commission to secure a lucrative contract.
Smartmatic itself was not indicted, and the alleged actions did not pertain to election tampering, but the optics remain unfavorable—exactly what a defense attorney would want to counter Smartmatic’s claims of reputational harm.
Mugica treaded carefully while discussing these allegations. “I’m not aware of that being true,” he stated regarding the bribery claim. “I’m very confident that my executives are going to clear their names.” However, he expressed concerns about the nature and context of the indictment.
Yet, in the eyes of the public, the nuances of a federal indictment may hardly mitigate perceptions of a company's reputation.
The so-called unrelated elements of Mugica's personal life and investment ventures could also come into play.
Take Feeld, a dating app focused on “polyamory, consensual non-monogamy, homo- and heteroflexibility, pansexuality, asexuality, aromanticism, voyeurism, and kink.” Mugica is a prominent investor and sees it as a female-led enterprise catering to an overlooked community that reflects his own views.
“I’ve always been more of an open-relationship type of person,” Mugica, a separated father of two, explained. “That’s one of the reasons the couple that founded this company came to me, and I thought, look, there is a big market of people that have more of an open mind about these things. … And it proved to be right,” as the app is rapidly growing.
Thus far, Mugica’s engagement with Feeld hasn't featured in any pretrial publicity, but he suspects its time may soon come. Interestingly, a notable mention of Feeld in U.S. media came from a 2021 Vanity Fair piece titled “Three-Way Sex With Couples Has Made Me a Better Person,” penned by Caroline Rose Giuliani, the daughter of Rudy Giuliani, whose actions are also pertinent to Smartmatic’s defamation claims.
“It’s been very tough because I’m running the business at the same time that I need to manage the litigation against Fox and Newsmax,” Mugica shared. “What I tell my friends is, it’s not the legal battle, which I think I have an excellent team of lawyers, but it is more the invisible battle that happens under the table, people trying to bring you down. … These are the things that have really taken the fight to a different level.”
While Mugica has not specifically raised funds for the legal battles, Smartmatic secured a multimillion-dollar investment from Reid Hoffman, the billionaire founder of LinkedIn and noted Democratic donor. An adviser to Hoffman remarked that the investment represented both a beneficial business move and a means “to provide capital that would allow the truth to be found in the courts.”
Ironically, London-based Smartmatic has minimal business dealings in the U.S. Its only contract in 2020 was with Los Angeles County, far removed from the regions where Trump supporters alleged fraud. However, Mugica asserted that misinformation has “obliterated” his company’s business, which experienced its worst revenue year in 21 years.
“To take the biggest company in the election technology space that has never had a breach in 25 years, and to say they rigged the U.S. election is devastating,” Mugica lamented, claiming these falsehoods halted numerous potential opportunities after the firm had invested heavily in its growth. “I think that lie was actually devastating not only for our company. It was devastating for the industry as a whole. So many countries that wanted to bring technology into their elections said, ‘We don't want to be in that situation.’”
In its lawsuit, Smartmatic seeks $2.7 billion for both economic and reputational damages and is also pursuing punitive damages, which could theoretically elevate the total to $5.4 billion or $8.1 billion, with no cap on punitive damages in New York.
Before rushing to calculate those potential figures, it’s important to note that prior to the Newsmax settlement, the presiding judge ruled against punitive damages in that case, indicating that Newsmax hadn’t intentionally harmed Smartmatic despite broadcasting false statements. The circumstances of the Fox lawsuit, however, differ regarding both company and jurisdiction.
Fox has denied any allegations of defamation, contending that a lawsuit against a media organization could endanger free speech, asserting they were merely reporting on claims. “Smartmatic’s damages claims are implausible, disconnected from reality, and on their face intended to chill First Amendment freedoms,” the network stated.
Mugica, who spent a decade in the U.S. and maintains family ties here, expresses confidence in the American legal system.
Despite this confidence, the aftermath of 2020 has painted a more perilous picture within the United States than he anticipated. Election deniers have harassed Smartmatic's offices across the country, while threatening messages targeting employees have been reported. “Location acquired … here we come,” read one ominous message. Their Los Angeles office even received a package containing gruesome images of dismembered body parts. “The 14-year-old son of my co-founder received a call saying, ‘We’re going to kill you and your family for what you have done,’” Mugica recounted.
When comparing the U.S. to nations where Smartmatic operates elections, he offered a disconcerting perspective.
“We’ve participated in elections in, I think, 37 countries, many of them in the developing world — immature democracies, or whatever you want to call them,” he noted. “Like Venezuela, which is not a democracy anymore. Or the Philippines or Kenya, places that are definitely at a different stage in their democracies and in their socioeconomic development. And I think what’s been happening in the U.S. recently, and more specifically with the last election, was kind of a regression into that stage. So the U.S. has basically behaved as if it was any other developing country on the political front.”
Ian Smith contributed to this report for TROIB News
Mugica's firm endured a barrage of unfounded far-right conspiracy theories regarding a rigged 2020 election. Recently, he settled confidentially with Newsmax in his defamation suit against them, following another confidential resolution with OAN earlier this year. However, he is headed to court early next year for a $2.7 billion lawsuit against Fox News, stemming from false claims associated with former President Donald Trump's election defeat.
The situation isn't merely a legal battle; it is a contentious war of narratives, especially in the public eye.
Upon the announcement of the Newsmax settlement last Thursday, Smartmatic swiftly released a statement highlighting its commitment to combating “disinformation” in the upcoming Fox case. In response, Fox News raised an issue seemingly disconnected from the core defamation claims, accusing Smartmatic of having a president and co-founder, along with other executives, federally indicted for bribery concerning contracts in the Philippines.
This tactic mirrors Newsmax's strategy before their settlement, often diverting attention from the central topic of 2020. Earlier, the pro-Trump outlet condemned Smartmatic, branding it as “the preferred election company for Venezuela’s brutal Chavez/Maduro regime” and suggesting that a company with such “a sordid reputation” shouldn’t pursue a defamation claim against a media entity.
As the battle with Fox approaches, similar narratives are expected to surface.
Defamation suits rest on the foundational idea that the injured party possesses a reputation that can be tarnished and can prompt adversarial parties to air grievances in advance of trial.
Mugica's public relations team understands this well, which is likely why I found myself discussing not only election integrity with him last month but also more uncomfortable topics: the bribery allegations, supposed connections to the late Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, and his views on non-monogamy in relation to his investments in dating apps.
While these subjects appear to stray from questions of whether a news outlet has harmed Mugica's business through lies regarding the 2020 U.S. election, they intertwine more closely in practice.
A political trial today often resembles a political campaign, complete with communication experts, opposition research, and significant funding. Sources indicate that the litigation against Fox could cost Smartmatic over $100 million, which could be a worthwhile investment, particularly since Dominion Voting Systems achieved a nearly $1 billion settlement with Fox in a similar case the previous year.
“The business of power is messy,” Mugica said. “Politics is messy. It’s definitely an extreme sport. And unfortunately for us, we’re in the middle of it.”
To excel in this intense arena, he believes it’s crucial to address the unsavory narratives likely to arise as the trial date approaches.
Unlike the baseless allegations of election rigging, some of these narratives hold a grain of truth. Mugica's company indeed oversaw elections in Venezuela, including a controversial recall election that Chavez won. “There are a million reasons to criticize President Chavez,” Mugica said. “I think for me, the biggest one is, he destroyed the country. But one thing that he didn’t do is he didn’t tamper with these results.”
Conversely, when the opposition chose to boycott a national assembly election during Nicolás Maduro’s presidency, allowing the ruling party to go uncontested, Mugica exposed the regime's manipulation of voter turnout figures. “And, of course, immediately we were politically persecuted out of the country,” Mugica recalled, noting that many local employees were relocated. “I have never been able to return to Venezuela.”
He also mentioned that the Maduro regime defaulted on $100 million owed to Smartmatic and seized its local operations. His team argues that this history complicates attempts to frame him as a puppet of the dictatorship. Nonetheless, the Venezuela-related questions persist throughout Fox's legal filings.
The indictments in the Philippines, which garnered significant media attention, are also likely to resurface during the trial. Federal prosecutors alleged that three Smartmatic executives, including president and co-founder Roger Pinate, violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by attempting to channel $1 million to the head of the election commission to secure a lucrative contract.
Smartmatic itself was not indicted, and the alleged actions did not pertain to election tampering, but the optics remain unfavorable—exactly what a defense attorney would want to counter Smartmatic’s claims of reputational harm.
Mugica treaded carefully while discussing these allegations. “I’m not aware of that being true,” he stated regarding the bribery claim. “I’m very confident that my executives are going to clear their names.” However, he expressed concerns about the nature and context of the indictment.
Yet, in the eyes of the public, the nuances of a federal indictment may hardly mitigate perceptions of a company's reputation.
The so-called unrelated elements of Mugica's personal life and investment ventures could also come into play.
Take Feeld, a dating app focused on “polyamory, consensual non-monogamy, homo- and heteroflexibility, pansexuality, asexuality, aromanticism, voyeurism, and kink.” Mugica is a prominent investor and sees it as a female-led enterprise catering to an overlooked community that reflects his own views.
“I’ve always been more of an open-relationship type of person,” Mugica, a separated father of two, explained. “That’s one of the reasons the couple that founded this company came to me, and I thought, look, there is a big market of people that have more of an open mind about these things. … And it proved to be right,” as the app is rapidly growing.
Thus far, Mugica’s engagement with Feeld hasn't featured in any pretrial publicity, but he suspects its time may soon come. Interestingly, a notable mention of Feeld in U.S. media came from a 2021 Vanity Fair piece titled “Three-Way Sex With Couples Has Made Me a Better Person,” penned by Caroline Rose Giuliani, the daughter of Rudy Giuliani, whose actions are also pertinent to Smartmatic’s defamation claims.
“It’s been very tough because I’m running the business at the same time that I need to manage the litigation against Fox and Newsmax,” Mugica shared. “What I tell my friends is, it’s not the legal battle, which I think I have an excellent team of lawyers, but it is more the invisible battle that happens under the table, people trying to bring you down. … These are the things that have really taken the fight to a different level.”
While Mugica has not specifically raised funds for the legal battles, Smartmatic secured a multimillion-dollar investment from Reid Hoffman, the billionaire founder of LinkedIn and noted Democratic donor. An adviser to Hoffman remarked that the investment represented both a beneficial business move and a means “to provide capital that would allow the truth to be found in the courts.”
Ironically, London-based Smartmatic has minimal business dealings in the U.S. Its only contract in 2020 was with Los Angeles County, far removed from the regions where Trump supporters alleged fraud. However, Mugica asserted that misinformation has “obliterated” his company’s business, which experienced its worst revenue year in 21 years.
“To take the biggest company in the election technology space that has never had a breach in 25 years, and to say they rigged the U.S. election is devastating,” Mugica lamented, claiming these falsehoods halted numerous potential opportunities after the firm had invested heavily in its growth. “I think that lie was actually devastating not only for our company. It was devastating for the industry as a whole. So many countries that wanted to bring technology into their elections said, ‘We don't want to be in that situation.’”
In its lawsuit, Smartmatic seeks $2.7 billion for both economic and reputational damages and is also pursuing punitive damages, which could theoretically elevate the total to $5.4 billion or $8.1 billion, with no cap on punitive damages in New York.
Before rushing to calculate those potential figures, it’s important to note that prior to the Newsmax settlement, the presiding judge ruled against punitive damages in that case, indicating that Newsmax hadn’t intentionally harmed Smartmatic despite broadcasting false statements. The circumstances of the Fox lawsuit, however, differ regarding both company and jurisdiction.
Fox has denied any allegations of defamation, contending that a lawsuit against a media organization could endanger free speech, asserting they were merely reporting on claims. “Smartmatic’s damages claims are implausible, disconnected from reality, and on their face intended to chill First Amendment freedoms,” the network stated.
Mugica, who spent a decade in the U.S. and maintains family ties here, expresses confidence in the American legal system.
Despite this confidence, the aftermath of 2020 has painted a more perilous picture within the United States than he anticipated. Election deniers have harassed Smartmatic's offices across the country, while threatening messages targeting employees have been reported. “Location acquired … here we come,” read one ominous message. Their Los Angeles office even received a package containing gruesome images of dismembered body parts. “The 14-year-old son of my co-founder received a call saying, ‘We’re going to kill you and your family for what you have done,’” Mugica recounted.
When comparing the U.S. to nations where Smartmatic operates elections, he offered a disconcerting perspective.
“We’ve participated in elections in, I think, 37 countries, many of them in the developing world — immature democracies, or whatever you want to call them,” he noted. “Like Venezuela, which is not a democracy anymore. Or the Philippines or Kenya, places that are definitely at a different stage in their democracies and in their socioeconomic development. And I think what’s been happening in the U.S. recently, and more specifically with the last election, was kind of a regression into that stage. So the U.S. has basically behaved as if it was any other developing country on the political front.”
Ian Smith contributed to this report for TROIB News
