Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
- A dicey exchange unfolded on Newsmax Monday night when guest host Sebastian Gorka cut off MyPillow founder and CEO Mike Lindell once the topic of Dominion voting machines came up.
- Newsmax is facing potential defamation lawsuits from Dominion and another voting systems company over how on-air talent at the network has falsely implicated them in an election fraud scheme.
- Once Lindell said “the biggest fraud is the Dominion machines,” Gorka began pumping the brakes.
- “Mike, Mike — I don’t want to discuss — Mike, Mike,” Gorka said, almost shouting over Lindell. “We’re not gonna get into the minutiae of the details.”
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Sebastian Gorka found himself in a pickle while filling in as a guest host on Newsmax Monday night.
Gorka, a former Trump adviser turned podcaster and perennial pitch man, ended up cutting off MyPillow founder and CEO Mike Lindell once the subject of Dominion voting machines came up.
The pro-Trump cable network has been issuing a series of clarifications across its programs following threats of legal action from Dominion and another voting systems company frequently implicated in the president’s unfounded election fraud theories.
Shortly after Lindell said “the biggest fraud is the Dominion machines,” Gorka intervened.
—Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 22, 2020
“Mike, Mike – I don’t want to discuss – Mike, Mike,” Gorka said, almost shouting over Lindell. “We’re not gonna get into the minutiae of the details.
"I wanna ask you - because this show is about courage, it's hosted by a guy who's a former Marine [Greg Kelly] - I wanna know why you, Mike Lindell, are supporting the president in these legal cases."
On his podcast and in other appearances on conservative media, Gorka has been otherwise willing to explore the more fringe elements of Trump's election fraud theories.
He called Attorney General Bill Barr a "coward" for not using the Department of Justice more aggressively to intervene in election-related legal cases, and has long been one of Trump's most staunch defenders under any circumstances.
—Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo) December 15, 2020
However, the possible defamation lawsuits against Newsmax could be financially crippling.
Unlike Fox News, which aired different clarifications for certain shows on their coverage of Dominion and Smartmatic, Newsmax does not have the resources to mount a court battle in the way Fox Corp. can with its deep coffers.
Once Gorka successfully cut off Lindell, the MyPillow founder and CEO went on to emphasize how "everything's on the line here" with just 29 days until President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration.