Washington – Lawyers for conservative lawyer Sidney Powell told a federal court on Monday that “no reasonable person” would conclude that her unfounded allegations of electoral fraud in the 2020 presidential election were statements of fact as she fought a $ defamation lawsuit 1.3 billion from Dominion Voting Systems.
In a lawsuit in the federal district court in the District of Columbia, Powell argued that Dominion’s case against her should be dismissed, as “it was clear to reasonable people” that his statements were his own opinions and legal theories. Members of the public, she said, were free to draw their own conclusions about whether Dominion rigged the election against former President Donald Trump, as Powell has repeatedly claimed.
“Determining whether a claim is protected involves a two-step investigation: can the claim be proven to be true or false? And reasonable people would conclude that the claim is a fact, in light of its formulation, context and the circumstances surrounding it publication, “his lawyers told the court. “Analyzed under these factors, and even assuming, arguing, that each of the claims alleged in the complaint could be proved true or false, no reasonable person would conclude that the statements were actually statements of fact.”
Powell further argued that his statements are constitutionally protected, in part because they were made in the context of a bitter political debate, and political statements are prone to exaggeration and hyperbole.
The 2020 presidential race, his lawyers said, “was bitter and controversial,” and Powell made his statements “as a lawyer for his favorite candidate and in support of his legal and political positions”.
“Such characterizations of the allegedly defamatory statements further support the defendants’ position that reasonable people would not accept such statements as facts, but would view them only as claims that are awaiting trial by the courts through the adversarial process,” she argued, adding ” the speech in question here is not actionable. “
In addition to asking the court to close the case, Powell argued that the case should not have been filed in the District of Columbia, but in the Northern District of Texas, since she resides in Dallas. If the court decides not to dismiss the case, Powell asked that he be transferred to Texas.
Dominion, which provides electronic voting machines and software for governments and the United States and around the world, opened its defamation lawsuit against Powell in January and seeks $ 1.3 billion in damages. Powell spread conspiracy theories after the November election that Dominion was involved in a broad scheme to defraud the presidential election, claims that were amplified by Trump as he struggled unsuccessfully to secure a second term.
Dominion argued that Powell caused “unprecedented damage” to the company through its repeated claims that it bribed employees, conspired against Trump and reversed the votes given to the former president to boost President Biden. His officials, Dominion argued, were the target of harassment and threats as Powell’s accusations spread among far-right conspiracy theorists.
In addition to Powell, Dominion filed defamation lawsuits against MyPillow founder and CEO Mike Lindell and Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who also spread unfounded allegations of electoral fraud and claimed that the company rigged the election.