Dominion files $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit against Rudy Giuliani
Dominion Voting Systems filed a defamation lawsuit against Rudy Giuliani on Monday seeking $1.3 billion in damages for his "demonstrably false” allegations about the company's voting machines.
Why it matters: Giuliani led former President Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the election and spread the baseless conspiracy theory that Dominion's voting machines flipped votes from Trump to Joe Biden.
- Another one of Trump's allies, Sidney Powell, is also facing a defamation lawsuit for falsely claiming that Dominion was part of an international communist plot to rig the election.
- The lawsuit against Giuliani is based on more than 50 statements he made at hearings, on Twitter, on his podcast and in media appearances, including after Dominion sent him a legal notice calling on him to stop.
- Giuliani did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
What they're saying: "During a court hearing contesting the results of the 2020 election in Pennsylvania, Rudy Giuliani admitted that the Trump Campaign 'doesn’t plead fraud' and that 'this is not a fraud case,' Dominion writes in its 107-page lawsuit.
- "Although he was unwilling to make false election fraud claims about Dominion and its voting machines in a court of law because he knew those allegations are false, he and his allies manufactured and disseminated the “Big Lie,” which foreseeably went viral and deceived millions of people into believing that Dominion had stolen their votes and fixed the election."
- "As a result of the defamatory falsehoods peddled by Giuliani—in concert with ... other like-minded allies and media outlets determined to promote a false preconceived narrative about the 2020 election—Dominion’s founder and employees have been harassed and have received death threats, and Dominion has suffered unprecedented and irreparable harm."
What to watch: Dominion lawyer Tom Clare said on a press call Monday morning that the company may move forward with additional lawsuits. When asked if former President Trump could be the subject of a future lawsuit, Clare responded, "We’re not ruling anybody out."
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