Dominion Voting Systems, which has been at the center of the U.S. election fraud controversy, has officially dropped the $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit it filed against Mike Lindell in 2021.

The company was acquired by Scott Leiendecker in October 2025, rebranded as Liberty Vote, and has since focused its efforts on retaining its existing client states.

Both sides entered into a private settlement, quietly concluding a legal battle that had spanned over five years.

According to documents filed in federal court, Liberty Vote will not refile or pursue these specific claims against Lindell. No monetary damages were awarded, and no admission of liability was included in the agreement. Per the court settlement, each party will bear its own legal costs and attorney fees.

While it may appear as a "draw" on the surface, it is being interpreted by many as a "win for Lindell."

Previously, Lindell had been ordered by a jury to pay $2.3 million in a defamation lawsuit brought by Smartmatic, and a judge had already ruled that he was liable for defamation, leaving only the final determination of damages pending.

However, this latest settlement suggests a completely different outcome. It now allows Lindell to continue asserting that Dominion voting machines were used to commit election fraud.

Dominion Voting Systems had previously won similar lawsuits filed against conservative media outlets, including Fox News, Newsmax, and One America News Network (OAN).

In April 2023, Fox News agreed to pay a record $787.5 million to Dominion to avoid a public trial. Additionally, Fox News publicly acknowledged that the court had determined its broadcasts regarding Dominion were false.

In August 2025, Newsmax agreed to a $67 million settlement to be paid in installments over three years. This agreement was reached just before the case was set to go to a jury trial.

OAN quietly settled its case through a private agreement in September 2023. Interestingly, Chanel Rion, the White House correspondent who reported on the election fraud at the time, was appointed as the National Chief Investigative Correspondent in July 2023. Rion has since hosted her own show, "FinePoint," and is widely recognized as one of the leading journalists who has consistently reported on election fraud issues.

The conservative media outlets' abandonment of their legal battles bolstered claims that the election fraud allegations were merely conspiracy theories, subsequently allowing almost all major media outlets to characterize reports on election fraud as "false reporting" or "baseless claims."

At the time, the lawsuits filed by Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems focused on the fact that these media organizations had failed to conduct sufficient verification before reporting on allegations of election fraud. The argument was that because their due diligence was inadequate, they should be held accountable for their reports.

This was distinct from the question of whether election fraud actually occurred, and it is interpreted that the media outlets agreed to pay damages because they had no choice but to admit to a lack of prior verification.

However, the settlement with Mike Lindell differs in two significant respects.

First, unlike the media outlets, Lindell’s claims were personal and backed by a significant amount of gathered evidence. His position differs from that of media organizations, which are bound by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations.

Previously, in September 2025, Dominion had similarly dropped its $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit against Rudy Giuliani through a private settlement.

Although Lindell lost the case brought by Smartmatic, this settlement with Liberty Vote is being interpreted as a victory significant enough to overturn the effects of the previous Smartmatic ruling. Immediately after the settlement was announced, Lindell described it as "great news" and a "blessing."

Second, the ownership of the company changed while the litigation was ongoing. The new owner, Leiendecker, is a long-time Republican. While a conservative who prefers paper ballots, he has also been a public critic of the 2020 election fraud claims.

Liberty Vote has announced plans for new technology aligned with past executive orders from the Trump administration, which sought a major overhaul of election policy. In fact, the company focuses on "voter-verified paper records," preferring a system that combines hand-marked paper ballots, digital check-ins, and optical scanners.

NPR, which interviewed Leiendecker, noted that by framing voting machines in conservative and pro-Trump language, he has enabled Republican-led counties—which had rejected Dominion equipment following the 2020 controversy—to adopt this technology.

Some remain skeptical, suggesting that Liberty Vote is merely a rebranding and that the potential for election interference remains. There are even claims that this is part of a plot for the Republican Party to seize control of elections.

On the other hand, others are evaluating Liberty Vote's efforts to ensure election integrity, noting the progress made by their promotion of paper-based voting methods.

U.S. NNP = Chief Correspondent Hong Sung-goo / Special NNP Report info@newsandpost.com