Dominion files defamation lawsuit against Giuliani
Dominion Voting Systems filed a defamation lawsuit Monday seeking $1.3 billion from Rudolph W. Giuliani, a lawyer for Trump who played a key role in promoting the falsehood that the 2020 election was rigged.
The 107-page complaint, filed in federal court in the District, cites dozens of statements Giuliani made about Dominion — on Twitter, in appearances on conservative media shows and on his own podcast — to promote the “false preconceived narrative” that the election was stolen from Trump.
That “Big Lie” not only damaged Dominion’s reputation and business but also laid the groundwork for hundreds of people to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, the complaint says.
Giuliani did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Dominion’s allegations against Giuliani echo many of the accusations the company leveled earlier this month in a similar defamation lawsuit against lawyer Sidney Powell. Powell filed four lawsuits alleging that Dominion’s voting machines were rigged, contributing to massive election fraud. All four lawsuits were dismissed by federal judges.
Both Powell and Giuliani repeated the baseless claim that Dominion is a Venezuelan enterprise and that its machines switched thousands of votes from Trump to Biden.
Giuliani in particular repeatedly cited a “forensic report” that purportedly found 6,000 votes were switched in Antrim County, Mich., even though state officials said that wasn’t true and a hand count of ballots affirmed that Dominion machines had tabulated votes accurately.
Giuliani and Powell persisted in making false statements even after they received retraction demands from Dominion’s lawyers, according to the complaints. The company has sent retraction and preservation letters, often precursors to litigation, to more than 20 individuals and businesses, including conservative media outlets such as Fox News and Newsmax.
By Emma Brown
