The judge presiding over a defamation lawsuit pitting an electronic voting machine manufacturer targeted by allies of former President Donald Trump against a conservative news outlet that aired accusations of vote manipulation in the 2020 election set several parameters for an impending trial Monday.

Voting machine company Smartmatic's defamation case against right wing media outfit Newsmax will go forward in Delaware, after a ruling Thursday.

A major defamation case against Newsmax will proceed to trial later this month, a judge ruled Thursday, dealing a blow to the right-wing network and setting the stage for the 2020 election to be relitigated during the final stretch of the 2024 race.

Smartmatic is suing cable network Newsmax over on-air statements implying that Smartmatic participated in rigging the results, and that its software was used to switch votes.

A voting machine company’s defamation lawsuit against Newsmax appears to be headed toward trial following a Delaware judge’s ruling on Thursday. Florida-based Smartmatic accused Newsmax and other conservative media outlets of airing defamatory statements that implied the company rigged the results of the 2020 presidential election.