Election technology company Dominion Voting Systems has sued former President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani for using Twitter and making media appearances to promote baseless claims that there was voter fraud involved and that the 2020 US election was stolen. Dominion, which provided voting machinery in last year's US presidential election, is now seeking $1.3 billion in damages from Giuliani.
Trump had for days refused to concede defeat in the election and has claimed that voter fraud cost him a win. The claim was promoted by his aides led by Giuliani. The lawyer, however, has said that the case would give him a chance to prove his allegations.
The Big Lie
Following the election Giuliani repeatedly claimed that Dominion Voting Systems was a Venezuelan enterprise and its machines switched votes from Trump to Biden. However, despite filing several lawsuits in multiple states, the accusations were rejected by courts.
In the lawsuit filed against Giuliani, Dominion alleges that 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". "Dominion's founder and employees have been harassed and received death threats, and Dominion has suffered unprecedented and irreparable harm," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit further claims that Giuliani continue to promote the "lie" even after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building in Washington DC on January 6. The riots were an instigation and result of Trump and Giuliani's repeated denial that Biden had won the election and claims of widespread voter fraud.
Giuliani Ready to Fight Back
Dominion is already seeking $1.3 billion from another former Trump lawyer, Sidney Powell, who made similar accusations. Dominion says it has demanded that both lawyers, as well as more than 150 individuals and companies, retract their statements, but both have persisted in making false claims.
In Giuliani's case, Dominion has pointed that more than 50 statements by made by him about Dominion describes as defamatory. This includes remarks made at a January 6 rally in Washington before the insurrection on the US Capitol, appearances on Fox Business as well as social media posts.
Giuliani, however, continues to stand by his false claims about the election. He said that the lawsuit will give him a chance to prove his allegations. "Dominion's defamation lawsuit for $1.3 billion will allow me to investigate their history, finances, and practices fully and completely," Giuliani told CNN in a statement Monday.
He said he will "investigate a countersuit against them for violating these Constitutional rights." A group of prominent attorneys last week asked New York's judiciary to suspend Giuliani's law license because he made false claims in post-election lawsuits and urged Trump supporters to engage in "trial by combat" shortly before they stormed the US Capitol.
