{"id":2291327,"date":"2024-07-09T16:15:01","date_gmt":"2024-07-09T20:15:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dem-megadonor-is-backing-suit-to-silence-election-journalism\/"},"modified":"2024-07-09T16:17:24","modified_gmt":"2024-07-09T20:17:24","slug":"dem-megadonor-is-backing-suit-to-silence-election-journalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dem-megadonor-is-backing-suit-to-silence-election-journalism\/","title":{"rendered":"Dem Megadonor Is Backing Suit To Silence Election Journalism"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdem-megadonor-is-backing-suit-to-silence-election-journalism%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2291327&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The summary discusses how billionaire and top\u200b Democratic donor \u200cReid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, has been funding a lawsuit to\u2062 silence election reporting. He has invested millions in Smartmatic, an electronic tabulator company suing Fox News and Newsmax for defamation following the 2020 election. Hoffman also funded a &#8220;Russian-style&#8221; disinformation campaign \u2063in\u2062 2017 and financially backed E.\u2062 Jean Carroll&#8217;s lawsuit against \u2062Donald Trump.\u2062 Additionally, the summary highlights Hoffman&#8217;s\u200b association with Jeffrey Epstein\u2064 and his\u2062 support for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-citigroup-will-cover-employees-travel-costs-to-obtain-abortions\/\" title=\"Report: Citigroup Will Cover Employees&#039; Travel Costs to Obtain Abortions\">left-wing agendas<\/a>,\u200c including being one of President Joe Biden&#8217;s top \u200ddonors.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Billionaire and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/person\/reid-hoffman-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">top<\/a> Democrat donor Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, has been revealed to be funding a lawsuit to silence election reporting. Hoffman is the same Democrat donor who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/12\/26\/us\/reid-hoffman-alabama-election-disinformation.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">funded<\/a> a \u201cRussian-style\u201d disinformation campaign in 2017, financially backed E. Jean Carroll\u2019s suspicious lawsuit against Donald Trump, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/billionaire-who-visited-epstein-island-pours-thousands-coffers-vulnerable-dem-senate-races\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">visited<\/a> pedophile Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s private island.<\/p>\n<p>Hoffman is investing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/style\/media\/2024\/07\/08\/reid-hoffman-funds-smartmatic-fox-lawsuit\/#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">millions<\/a> in Smartmatic, the electronic tabulator company suing Fox News and Newsmax for defamation following the 2020 election, according to The Washington Post. Hoffman said he intends to help keep the company afloat, as it has been pursuing expensive legal retribution against the outlets for their election reporting.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement to The Washington Post, Hoffman claimed \u201cSmartmatic became a target of the defamatory campaign to overturn [Trump\u2019s] defeat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fox and Newsmax hosted commentators who aired concerns that tabulators were not secure, were vulnerable to voter fraud, and had possibly changed Trump votes to Biden votes. Smartmatic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/legal\/government\/column-weve-solved-mystery-smartmatics-funding-27-bln-fox-case-2023-04-21\/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CSmartmatic%20does%20not%20have%20any,an%20email%20statement%20to%20me.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">alleges<\/a> that hosting these discussions constituted defamation. Fox <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/fox-news-dominion-lawsuit-trial-trump-2020-0ac71f75acfacc52ea80b3e747fb0afe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">settled<\/a> a suit with Dominion Voting last year over similar allegations. <\/p>\n<p>But some news reports raised well-founded tabulator concerns. Tabulator software in Antrim County, Michigan <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2020\/11\/06\/software-glitch-in-michigan-county-tallied-6000-republican-votes-as-democrat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">glitched<\/a> in November 2020, counting 6,000 Republican votes as Democrat. <\/p>\n<p>Fox has long expressed concerns that there was a deep-pocketed \u201cthird party\u201d behind the lawsuit. Smartmatic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/legal\/government\/column-weve-solved-mystery-smartmatics-funding-27-bln-fox-case-2023-04-21\/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CSmartmatic%20does%20not%20have%20any,an%20email%20statement%20to%20me.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">denied<\/a> this in 2023, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFox was apparently wrong all along about Smartmatic\u2019s funding: No outsider is paying Smartmatic\u2019s litigation costs,\u201d the article confidently claimed, citing Smartmatic\u2019s attorney.<\/p>\n<p>It is unclear when Hoffman started investing in the company. Dmitri Mehlhorn, an adviser to Hoffman, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/style\/media\/2024\/07\/08\/reid-hoffman-funds-smartmatic-fox-lawsuit\/#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">admitted<\/a> the billionaire saw the \u201ccourt system\u201d as an \u201cimportant part of the battle to protect America from MAGA.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Funding A \u2018Russian-Style\u2019 Disinformation Campaign<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Hoffman funded a false information campaign that used \u201cRussian tactics\u201d against Republican Roy Moore, an Alabama candidate for U.S. Senate, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/12\/19\/us\/alabama-senate-roy-jones-russia.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The New York Times<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Hoffman and Mehlhorn created \u201cInvesting in US\u201d after the 2016 election, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/for-profit\/investing-in-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">investment fund<\/a> used to funnel money to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/antifa-blm-vandalize-ice-building-burn-original-starbucks\/\" title=\"Antifa, BLM vandalize ICE building, burn original Starbucks\">left-wing groups<\/a>. One such group was American Engagement Technologies, or AET, which received a total of $750,000 in 2017. AET helped run the $100,000 scheme that used Russian-style tactics to reduce Moore\u2019s support. <\/p>\n<p>Participants in the operation created a Facebook page, seemingly run by Alabamians, to advocate for a conservative \u201cwrite-in candidate\u201d that would split the Republican vote. Democrat Doug Jones <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/12\/19\/us\/alabama-senate-roy-jones-russia.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">narrowly<\/a> defeated Moore. <\/p>\n<p>Hoffman <a href=\"https:\/\/reid.medium.com\/truth-and-politics-1a532bc6c2b1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">apologized<\/a> for his role in the scheme, saying he \u201cdisavow[s]\u201d the use of \u201cmisinformation\u201d to win elections. <\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The same year, Hoffman <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/reidhoffman\/status\/862114354807754753\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">gave air time<\/a> to the hoax that accused then-President Donald Trump of colluding with Russia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFBI is taking this duty seriously \u2013 investigating Trump\u2019s ties to Russia and potential corruption,\u201d Hoffman <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/reidhoffman\/status\/862114354807754753\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">posted<\/a> on X in 2017. \u201cBut will Trump let the FBI do its job?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Backing Anti-Trump Lawfare<\/h2>\n<div>\n<p>Hoffman also helped <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/04\/13\/nyregion\/trump-carroll-lawsuit-hoffman-linkedin.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bankroll<\/a> E. Jean Carroll\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/e-jean-carroll\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lawsuit<\/a> against Trump, according to court documents cited by The New York Times. Carroll accused Trump of raping her in a department store dressing room and sued him for defamation when he denied it. Carroll declined to press criminal charges against Trump because she said, bizarrely, that she \u201cwould find it <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/05\/09\/e-jean-carrolls-original-claims-about-trump-were-absurd-but-that-didnt-stop-the-media-from-amplifying-them\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">disrespectful<\/a> to the women who are down on the border who are being raped around the clock.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Hoffman-backed nonprofit American Future Republic provided <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/anafaguy\/2023\/05\/10\/what-was-reid-hoffmans-role-in-funding-e-jean-carrolls-case\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">funding<\/a> for the lawsuit, according to Forbes. Mehlhorn told the outlet Hoffman provides funding to clients who often do not know where the money comes from, in order to \u201cprotect our citizens from violent threats.\u201d In a civil trial with a lower standard of proof than a criminal case, Carroll won $2 million for the alleged assault and $3 million for the alleged defamation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2><strong>Visiting Jeffrey Epstein<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Notably, the mega-donor was also involved with Jeffrey Epstein. He <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/jeffrey-epstein-documents-woody-allen-larry-summers-edb3e9b2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">visited<\/a> the pedophile\u2019s private island, Little St. James, at least once in 2014, according to The Wall Street Journal.<\/p>\n<p>Hoffman said he took the trip to Epstein\u2019s island with Joi Ito, then-director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology\u2019s Media Lab, to fundraise for the school, the WSJ reported. Hoffman claimed he only visited the island once.<\/p>\n<p>Epstein, however, had scheduled for Hoffman to visit the island in both March and November 2014, according to the WSJ. <\/p>\n<p>And when Hoffman had a flight scheduled to New York in December of that year, \u201cEpstein arranged for Mr. Hoffman to stay overnight in his townhouse\u201d and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/jeffrey-epstein-documents-woody-allen-larry-summers-edb3e9b2\">attend<\/a> a breakfast party the next morning with guests including Bill Gates, the WSJ reported.<\/p>\n<p>Hoffman told the WSJ his last interaction with Epstein was in 2015, the same year he invited the pedophile to a Palo Alto dinner. He said he regretted interacting with Epstein, as his association helped bolster the abuser\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Sponsoring Left-Wing Agendas<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Hoffman is one of the top backers of Democratic causes. He is President Joe Biden\u2019s second-largest donor, according to Forbes, having <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/leokamin\/2024\/06\/27\/here-are-bidens-top-10-biggest-billionaire-donors-bloomberg-reid-hoffman\/\">given<\/a> $17.7 million to Biden groups.<\/p>\n<p>The tech mogul made his main appearance on the political scene during the 2016 presidential election, after which he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/person\/reid-hoffman-2\/\">founded<\/a> left-wing groups and fundraising efforts to \u201coppose\u201d then-President Trump, according to Influence Watch. He even <a href=\"https:\/\/trumpedupcards.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">created<\/a> \u201cTrumped Up Cards,\u201d a parody of the game \u201cCards Against Humanity\u201d in mockery of Trump.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to American Engagement Technologies, Hoffman and Mehlhorn\u2019s Investing in US was a major funder of many other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-cotton-slams-biden-pick-to-lead-doj-civil-rights-division\/\" title=\"Sen. Cotton slams Biden pick to lead DOJ Civil Rights Division\">left-wing advocacy<\/a> and electoral groups, including Indivisible, Vote.org, and \u201cWoke Vote,\u201d according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/for-profit\/investing-in-us\/\">Influence Watch<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Investing in US has also \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/for-profit\/investing-in-us\/\">invested at least $20 million in Alloy<\/a>,\u201d a Democratic data exchange program, and it invested heavily in ACRONYM, the group behind a <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2020\/02\/04\/iowa-caucus-app-shadow-acronym\/\">failed<\/a> left-leaning voting program early in the 2020 cycle.<\/p>\n<p>Hoffman spent more than $3.3 million on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/political-party\/house-majority-pac\/\">House Majority PAC<\/a> from 2018 to 2019, and $3 million on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/political-party\/senate-majority-pac\/\">Senate Majority PAC<\/a> from 2018 to 2020, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/person\/reid-hoffman-2\/\">InfluenceWatch<\/a>. He spent millions on Democratic causes during this time, pledging $100 million to oppose Trump and the GOP in 2020. In 2023, according to The New York Times, he also <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/GneGX\">gave<\/a> $250,000 to a Nikki Haley super PAC.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Logan Washburn is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawsuit-clark-county-keeps-commercial-addresses-on-voter-rolls\/\" title=\"Lawsuit: Clark County Keeps Commercial Addresses On Voter Rolls\">staff writer covering election integrity<\/a>. He graduated from Hillsdale College, served as Christopher Rufo&#8217;s editorial assistant, and has bylines in The Wall Street Journal, The Tennessean, and The Daily Caller. Logan is originally from Central Oregon but now lives in rural Michigan.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Billionaire and prominent Democratic donor Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, is reportedly funding a lawsuit to suppress election reporting. Hoffman, who previously supported a disinformation campaign in 2017 and financially backed a lawsuit against Donald Trump, is now investing in Smartmatic, the company suing Fox News and Newsmax for defamation following the 2020 election. Hoffman claims he is supporting Smartmatic to help them fight against the outlets&#8217; election reporting. Despite concerns raised about tabulator security, Smartmatic alleges that hosting discussions about these concerns constituted defamation. Hoffman has a history of funding left-wing causes and has been a major donor to Democratic campaigns, including Joe Biden&#8217;s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":507,"featured_media":2291328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Reid_Hoffman_7982131004.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4912,3728,8300],"class_list":["post-2291327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-democrat","tag-election","tag-megadonor"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Reid_Hoffman_7982131004.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2291327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/507"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2291327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2291327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2291328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2291327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2291327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2291327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}