American Thinker, a conservative blog that pushed false claims about Dominion Voting Systems and President Trump‘s defeat, corrected itself and apologized Friday in the face of a potential lawsuit.
Thomas Lifson, American Thinker‘s editor and publisher, said his site received “a lengthy letter from Dominion’s defamation lawyers” and subsequently agreed to issue a statement at their request.
American Thinker, among other outlets, carried several pieces about Dominion after the presidential race ended which accused the voting machine company of conspiring to cost Mr. Trump a second term.
“These pieces rely on discredited sources who have peddled debunked theories about Dominion’s supposed ties to Venezuela, fraud on Dominion’s machines that resulted in massive vote switching or weighted votes and other claims falsely stating that there is credible evidence that Dominion acted fraudulently,” American Thinker acknowledged in the statement its editor and publisher issued.
“These statements are completely false and have no basis in fact. Industry experts and public officials alike have confirmed that Dominion conducted itself appropriately and that there is simply no evidence to support these claims,” reads the rest of the statement. “It was wrong for us to publish these false statements. We apologize to Dominion for all of the harm this caused them and their employees. We also apologize to our readers for abandoning journalistic principles and misrepresenting Dominion’s track record and its limited role in tabulating votes for the November 2020 election. We regret this grave error.”
At least two American Thinker pieces about Dominion have been updated to include the statement as well.
Dominion responded later Friday by issuing a statement that accused American Thinker of having amplified malicious lies about the company the had serious real-world consequences.
“These lies have diminished the credibility of U.S. elections, subjected officials and Dominion employees to harassment and death threats and severely damaged the reputation of our company. We are continuing to take steps to restore both our good name and the public’s faith in elections by holding those responsible to account,” Dominion said in a statement it shared with The Washington Times.
Dominion provides voting systems used in more than two dozen states during November’s election, which was decisively won by President-elect Joseph R. Biden as virtually all major polls had predicted.
Mr. Trump and some fellow Republicans pushed false claims and conspiracy theories to justify the election’s outcome prior to mobs of the president’s supporters raiding the U.S. Capitol last week, including baseless allegations involving Dominion and its machines.
Indeed, Sidney Powell, a conservative lawyer close to the president, was sued for more than $1.3 billion in damages in a defamation lawsuit Dominion filed against her in federal court last Friday.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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