Smart­mat­ic head charged with brib­ing Philip­pine elec­tion offi­cials for con­tracts

The founder of the Smart­mat­ic vot­ing machine com­pa­ny was indict­ed by a grand jury on Thurs­day for alleged­ly con­spir­ing to pay a $1 mil­lion bribe to win a con­tract for the 2016 elec­tion in the Philip­pines.
Venezue­lan nation­al Roger Ale­jan­dro Pinate Mar­tinez was indict­ed by a fed­er­al grand jury in Flori­da, where he resides. The indict­ment accus­es him of con­spir­ing to pay a $1 mil­lion bribe to secure a con­tract for the 2016 Philip­pine elec­tion, accord­ing to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the South­ern Dis­trict of Flori­da, which has yet to make the indict­ment pub­licly avail­able.

A Smart­mat­ic rep­re­sen­ta­tive demon­strates his company’s sys­tem, which has scan­ners and touch screens with print­out options, at a meet­ing of the Secure, Acces­si­ble, and Fair Elec­tions Com­mis­sion on Aug. 30, 2018, in Grove­town, Geor­gia. (Bob Andres/Atlanta Jour­nal-Con­sti­tu­tion via AP)

Sep­a­rate from this indict­ment, Smart­mat­ic claimed it was defamed when it was accused dur­ing an on-air broad­cast on Fox News of col­lab­o­rat­ing with Domin­ion Vot­ing Sys­tems to manip­u­late the …