Dominion Voting Sues Sidney Powell For Defamation Over Election Conspiracy Theory
Topline
Dominion Voting Systems filed a lawsuit against former Trump campaign legal advisor Sidney Powell Friday for defamation, court records show, after the attorney promoted a baseless conspiracy theory tying the company’s voting machines to widespread election fraud, which the company has threatened could be the first in a series of lawsuits targeting Trump allies who have spread the false claims—and potentially the president himself.
Sidney Powell conducts a news conference at the Republican National Committee on lawsuits regarding … [+]
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Key Facts
Powell is largely responsible for spreading the far-right conspiracy theory claiming Dominion voting machines helped to fraudulently elect President-elect Joe Biden, and continued to push the false fraud narrative after Dominion sent the attorney a cease and desist letter in December demanding she retract her “knowingly baseless” claims.
There is no evidence of any election fraud tied to Dominion machines—which were actually used in many counties that voted for President Donald Trump—and Powell’s lawsuits involving the fraud claims have all failed in court due to lack of evidence.
Dominion filed the lawsuit after previously saying in its cease and desist letter the conspiracy theory had “put Dominion’s employees’ lives at risk and caused enormous harm to the company.”
The lawsuit was officially filed Friday in federal court in the District of Columbia, and the docket shows prosecutors are asking for $1,303,470,000 in damages.
Dominion has not yet responded to a request for comment on the filing.
What To Watch For
While going after Powell was Dominion’s first priority, the company has suggested it may file subsequent lawsuits against others who have spread the conspiracy theory. Dominion has sent letters warning of potential litigation to the White House, Fox News, Newsmax, One America News and a number of Trump-allied individuals, including his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Rush Limbaugh, Fox News personalities Sean Hannity and Maria Bartiromo, conservative attorney Lin Wood and Melissa Carone, who Giuliani has pushed as a witness to the purported election fraud. “We’re looking at everybody…every actor that has made these types of false allegations about us, and also the news media outlets that have allowed these allegations to be amplified, unfettered and unchecked,” Dominion CEO John Poulos told Axios Monday, saying their legal efforts would be “thorough and exhaustive.” Poulos has also not ruled out that the company could sue Trump himself.
Key Background
Dominion’s lawsuit comes after employee Eric Coomer had already sued the Trump campaign, Powell, Giuliani and other allies for defamation separately in December, which is currently pending. Powell’s promotion of the Dominion conspiracy theory has been controversial even within the president’s orbit: the Trump campaign distanced itself from the attorney after she began spreading the Dominion fraud claims, and though Powell reportedly continued to visit the White House and have the president’s ear—Trump reportedly even considered appointing her as special counsel to investigate election fraud—Powell later claimed she had been banned from speaking with the president entirely. Powell’s theories have gained traction on the far right, however, as well as with Trump, who recently repeated false claims about the voting machines during a recent phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
Further Reading
Dominion Demands Sidney Powell Retract ‘Knowingly Baseless’ Voting Machine Conspiracy Theory (Forbes)
Dominion Warns White House, Giuliani Of ‘Imminent’ Legal Action Over Voter Fraud Claims (Forbes)
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