WILMINGTON, Delaware Newsmax Media failed to narrow the allegedly defamatory statements it must defend in a lawsuit brought by voting machine company Smartmatic USA Corp after a Delaware judge ruled against the rightwing U.S. television network on Wednesday.

Smartmatic sued Newsmax in November 2021, saying the network should be held accountable for spreading conspiracy theories about the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

The voting machine company accused Newsmax of knowingly spreading false claims that the company rigged the election against then-President Donald Trump.

(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)