Fox News is asking a New York judge to impose sweeping sanctions against voting tech firm Smartmatic, accusing the company of systematically deleting mobile messages that undercut its $2.7 billion defamation claim.

In a major legal motion filed Wednesday, Fox alleges that Smartmatic founder Antonio Mugica “in writing, ordered Smartmatic’s President Roger Piñate Jr. … to delete WhatsApp mobile messages discussing critical damages issues.” That directive, Fox claims, came days before the company filed its lawsuit in 2021 over Fox’s coverage of the 2020 election.