Rudy Giuliani Sued by Dominion Voting Systems Over False Election Claims
Category: News & Politics
Via: sister-mary-agnes-ample-bottom • 3 years ago • 53 commentsBy: Nick Corasaniti (MSN)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Rudy Giuliani Sued by Dominion Voting Systems Over False Election Claims
Dominion Voting Systems filed a defamation lawsuit on Monday against Rudolph W. Giuliani, the lawyer for Donald J. Trump and former mayor of New York City who played a key role in the former president's monthslong effort to subvert the 2020 election.
The 107-page lawsuit, filed in the Federal District Court in Washington, accuses Mr. Giuliani of carrying out "a viral disinformation campaign about Dominion" made up of "demonstrably false" allegations, in part to enrich himself through legal fees and his podcast.
The suit seeks damages of more than $1.3 billion and is based on more than 50 statements Mr. Giuliani made at legislative hearings, onTwitter, on his podcast and in the conservative news media, where he spun a fictitious narrative of a plot by one of the biggest voting machine manufacturers in the country to flip votes to President Biden.
Mr. Giuliani, one of Mr. Trump's closest advisers and confidants, has faced continuing fallout for his highly visible efforts to reverse the election outcome. This month, the chairman of the New York State Senate's judiciary committee formally requested that the state court system strip Mr. Giuliani of his law license.
Mr. Giuliani did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Taken together with a lawsuit the company filed this month against Sidney Powell, another lawyer who was allied with Mr. Trump, the suit represents a point-by-point rebuke of one of the more outlandish conspiracy theories surrounding last year's election. The president's allies had contended that the voting machine company — which was also used in states during Mr. Trump's victory in the 2016 election, has been tested by government agencies, and was used in states Mr. Trump carried in 2020 — was somehow involved in a rigged election, partly as a result of ties to a long-deceased Venezuelan dictator.
"Dominion was not founded in Venezuela to fix elections for Hugo Chavez," the suit says. "It was founded in 2002 in John Poulos's basement in Toronto to help blind people vote on paper ballots." The suit later adds that the headquarters for the company's United States subsidiary is in Denver.
Laying out a timeline of Mr. Giuliani's comments about Dominion on Twitter, his podcast and Fox News, the company notes that Mr. Giuliani avoided mentioning Dominion in court, where he could have faced legal ramifications for falsehoods. "Notably, not a single one of the three complaints signed and filed by Giuliani and other attorneys for the Trump Campaign in the Pennsylvania action contained any allegations about Dominion," the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit also links Mr. Giuliani's false statements about Dominion to the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, noting that he mentioned the company in his speech at a rally for Mr. Trump before the attack, as well as numerous times on social media as the Capitol was breached.
"Having been deceived by Giuliani and his allies into thinking that they were not criminals — but patriots 'Defend[ing] the Republic' from Dominion and its co-conspirators — they then bragged about their involvement in the crime on social media," the suit states.
Thomas A. Clare, a lawyer representing Dominion, said that the riot had not factored into the decision to sue Mr. Giuliani, but that it did show just how seriously Mr. Trump's followers had taken the falsehoods told about the election.
"From a defamation law perspective, it just demonstrates the depth to which these statements sink in to people," Mr. Clare said in an interview. "That people don't just read them and tune them out. It goes to the core of their belief system, which puts them in a position to take action in the real world."
John Poulos, the chief executive officer of Dominion, said that his company took legal action against Mr. Giuliani both to correct the record about Dominion and restore trust in the American electoral systems.
"Not only have these lies damaged the good name of my company," Mr. Poulos said of Mr. Giuliani's false claims, "but they also undermined trust in American democratic institutions, drowning out the remarkable work of elections officials and workers, who ensured a transparent and secure election. The thousands of hand recounts and audits that proved machines counted accurately continue to be overshadowed by disinformation."
Dominion is a major manufacturer of voting machine equipment in the United States, second only to Election Systems & Software. Different models of Dominion machines were used in more than two dozen states — red, blue and battleground — during the 2020 election.
The company had previously warned Mr. Giuliani, sending a letter in late December that told him to preserve all records of his claims and stop making false statements, and warned that legal action was imminent. But Mr. Giuliani continued with his false claims of fraud, even arguing on Twitter days after receiving the letter that "phony Dominion voting machines" needed to be investigated.
As recently as last week, Mr. Giuliani was on his New York City-based radio show saying that "so long as you have Dominion, there is clear and present danger" that election results could be rigged. He added that he had "boxes of evidence to support his claims."
Dominion has indicated that it plans to file more lawsuits. The suit against Mr. Giuliani says he acted with other prominent conservatives and news networks, including Mike Lindell, Lou Dobbs, Fox News, Fox Business, Newsmax and One America News Network.
Mr. Clare, Dominion's lawyer, left open the possibility of litigation against Mr. Trump.
"We're not ruling anybody out," he said. "Obviously, this lawsuit against the president's lawyer moves one step closer to the former president and understanding what his role was and wasn't."
The threats from Dominion have prompted some conciliatory responses from conservative news outlets hoping to avoid a legal battle. This month, the American Thinker, a conservative website, posted an apologetic note saying that its reports about Dominion "are completely false and have no basis in fact" and that "it was wrong for us to publish these false statements."
Mr. Giuliani was one of the main public faces of the effort to reverse the election results, with Mr. Trump rarely appearing in public and preferring to send out broadsides on Twitter against the democratic process.
Dominion argues that Mr. Giuliani profited significantly from his false claims, noting that he "reportedly demanded $20,000 per day" for his legal services to Mr. Trump and "cashed in by hosting a podcast where he exploited election falsehoods to market gold coins, supplements, cigars and protection from 'cyberthieves.'"
The lawsuit notes just how quickly and widely the lies and false narratives had spread leading up to the riot at the Capitol. "Over a three-hour period on December 21, 2020, the terms 'dominion' and 'fraud' were tweeted out together by more than 2,200 users with over 8.75 million total followers," the suit says.
The reach of the disinformation about the company brought countless threats of violence against employees, the suit claims. One employee received text messages stating: "We are already watching you. Come clean and you will live." A voice mail message to customer support said, "We're bringing back the firing squad."
Because of these threats, Dominion has spent $565,000 on personal security, according to the lawsuit. The company claimed to have incurred $1.17 million in total expenses relating to the disinformation campaign after the election.
"Giuliani's statements," the suit states, "were calculated to — and did in fact — provoke outrage and cause Dominion enormous harm."
Alan Feuer contributed reporting.
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Good. He deserves it.
they'll have to keep him in a HEPA fart booth in court.
Hahahahahaha!!!!!
I can picture it now. A loud shart followed by a suffering succotash, spittle flying.
Trump is a multi-billionaire.
He should give Rudy the money to pay the damages. Poor Rudy sacrificed his reputation and his mental health on the altar of Trumpism.
Meanwhile back on planet earth.................
Watch how quickly Trump says, "I've never met him... I've never even been in the same room with him...I don't even know what he looks like."
I haven't seen you laugh like that in, well, ever. It's nice to see.
Really? I have used this emoji
many times.
in 3...2...1...
Trump:.... "He might have gotten me coffee once.....".
I wonder if he is going to act as his own attorney? What's that old saying about representing yourself..LOL
I've got it, Rudy Four Seasons should hire Sidney Powell to represent him.
With Dominion suing both Giulani and Powell for over a billion dollars, this year may be the most profitable ever for Dominion.
Why yes, yes we do.
Rightly so. I have no sympathy for those who abuse the legal system as Giuliani did for Trump. And especially the damage that Giuliani did to the nation as a tool of Trump.
trumptool
He is a perfect example of a tool. I really cannot believe that he is this gullible but the facts are there. I wonder if Giuliani thinks Trump is going to pay him for his services?
In its organic form.
I just cannot imagine what got into the brain of Giuliani and associates to reify the Trump stolen election con. If they believed this to be true then they are all incompetent. If they knew it was bullshit yet engaged in the game nonetheless then they are all irresponsible cheats.
Either way, Giuliani, et. al. losing their licenses to practice law seems to be the minimum response to trying to defraud the electorate and steal an election.
There was a republican rep that got hammered Sunday. He finally admitted the election was legitimate and Biden won.
All I could think is, they know yet they are perpetuating lies on purpose.
There need to be stiff penalties and jail time you would think. Not just a slap on the wrist with a 'Do not do that again!'
They all knew - any attorney associated with tRump, anyone in the gop, they knew better.
A dictatorship is great if you're inside the inner circle of power. Not so much for anybody else. Dictatorship is what they were trying to accomplish here and they all need to be punished accordingly.
They had to know. There is a limit to stupidity and still operate as a functioning adult, right? Similarly, it is hard to imagine the motivation of those who still maintain that the election was stolen (e.g. labeling Biden illegitimate). Is it possible that this is genuine stupidity? Are there really that many people who are this stupid? At this point it is either stupidity or dishonesty. Not good either way.
Of course they knew
Thus whenever someone who has enough brains to function as an adult claims that Biden is illegitimate, I will conclude that individual is without question being intentionally dishonest. (The lying sack of shit Trump effect: if reality does not suit your purposes, just lie.)
Do you feel that way about Hillary Clinton? The departed John Lewis? And all of the other people who claimed Trump was an illegitimate President..
Trump was legitimate in that he got the most electoral votes. He was never for even one day fit to hold the office.
You bet your horse's patooty they did. The whole thing (dare I call it a scam?) was designed to subvert democracy. They wanted trmp as dictator, but the fools all thought they were going to part of his inner circle.
Are you ever able to respond to a point without trying to imply hypocrisy?
Stupid questions. Anyone who claimed Trump was illegitimate was wrong. And those who continued to claim that past the point where it was clear that he had won, were either stupid or dishonest.
Now, if someone claims that Biden is illegitimate, what is your response? Do you agree with them? Or do you consider them either stupid or dishonest?
There was a lot of inside funding for that 'coup'. I think they should check the financials of all the gop/republicans including their whackjob QANon brothers and sisters; all those who said President Biden's election was illegitimate, every single one
In most cases...
But not with trump. In fact even his most loyal sycophants say even one thing Trump doesn't like-- and he throws them under the bus!
Yes.
To cite one example--recently some of the MAGA terrorists who stormed the Capitol--- and actually believed they could get away with it!
And those who the FBI has now arrested-- and who are whining that Trump didn't pardon them.
Are they that stupid...to believe that he actually gives a damn about their loyalty?
Yes-- they are actually that stupid!
Because their dear leader egged them/spurred them/incited them on - with the lie that he would walk with them to the Capitol.
That moron in the helmet with horns is pissed that the former 'president' didn't pardon him and his fellow domestic terrorists.
tRump is loyal to tRump
She doesn't even work for the government and I heard a LOT of people call trump 'illegitimate', are you saying that they do not have the right to use their freedom of speech?
How often did we hear people on the right saying that President Obama was, 'illegitimate' because he was, "born in Kenya"? I still hear that shit today, Sean.
There is a huge difference between illegitimate and unfit. Trump is/was/will always be unfit to hold any kind of political office.
Okay. They called him illegitimate..
I have no idea what you are trying to argue. It's okay for private citizens like Hillary Clinton to call Trump an illegitimate President, but it was wrong for Representative John Lewis to call him illegitimate? Freedom of speech is somehow involved?
Why are you defensive about explaining the principles behind your opinions?
Stupid questions.
Do you not read this site? Even in this very thread you have someone bragging about how often Trump was called illegitimate.
someone claims that Biden is illegitimate, what is your response? Do you agree with them?
I've never called Biden illegitimate, so, no, I don't agree with anyone who does.
Freedom of speech and, I am guessing you forgot, trump won a rigged election, he said it was rigged MANY times.
Trump was both.
It's an opinion Sean. Trump has said far worse about Democrat president and members of congress.
Context is important.
Asked whether he would try to forge a relationship with the president-elect, Lewis said that he believes in forgiveness, but added, "it's going to be very difficult. I don't see this president-elect as a legitimate president."
Source
Hillary Clinton said in a “ CBS Sunday Morning” interview : “He knows he’s an illegitimate president. I believe he understands that the many varying tactics they used, from voter suppression and voter purging to hacking to the false stories -- he knows that -- there were just a bunch of different reasons why the election turned out like it did.”
Source
Oh, have I misjudged you Sean? Just an innocent inquiry? This is not like the series of 'inquiries' you have made directed at me? This one is genuine?
What do the words of others have to do with my position? Where have you ever seen me claim that Trump was not legitimate? The answer is never.
I made a point about how stupid or dishonest it is to claim Biden illegitimate and you ask me about Trump. Yeah, Sean, you just wanted me to explain my principles.
And I have never deemed Trump illegitimate. What do you conclude from that?
"People are sayin'" that Trump was the worst president evah!
No need to convince us! (Reading your comments ...that seemed pretty obvious).
Rudy doesn't have a leg to stand on, he was seen on TV MANY times making these claims. Rudy's screwed, (and not by his first cousin), I couldn't be happier.
Giuliani's response:
“Dominion’s defamation lawsuit for $1.3B will allow me to investigate their history, finances, and practices fully and completely. The amount being asked for is, quite obviously, intended to frighten people of faint heart. It is another act of intimidation by the hate-filled left-wing to wipe out and censor the exercise of free speech, as well as the ability of lawyers to defend their clients vigorously. As such, we will investigate a countersuit against them for violating these Constitutional rights.” – Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani just helped Dominion's case.
He's too stupid to realize that he has his back against the wall.
I used to feel sorry for him. You know...little old man trying to obtain his former glory kind of thing. I don't think that way any more. He needs to be held accountable.
The instant Giuliani started defending Trump's election fraud con with bullshit I wrote him off as slimy and stupid.
But then again-- according to Trump and his nutty supporters-- isn't everything?