Sidney Powell, a pro-Trump lawyer who was sued by Dominon Voting Systems earlier this year is moving to dismiss the $1.3 billion lawsuit against her on the grounds that “reasonable people” shouldn’t have taken her conspiracy claims as fact.
Powell previously represented the Trump campaign in late 2020 as the former president attempted to overturn the results of the election. Often peddling in conspiracy theories, she pushed the false claim that the election had been “stolen” from President Donald Trump on the basis of widespread voter fraud.
Among Powell’s claims was that Dominion rigged voting machines to flip votes from Trump to Biden, though she offered little evidence to support her claim. In January, Dominion sued Powell for $1.3 billion, claiming that she knowingly spread false information and that her actions harmed the company.
On Monday, Powell filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. In that filing, her lawyers write that Powell was merely stating her “opinion” and that while the public could reach their own conclusions, “reasonable” people would not accept them as facts.
"Indeed, Plaintiffs themselves characterize the statements at issue as 'wild accusations' and 'outlandish claims.' They are repeatedly labelled 'inherently improbable' and even 'impossible.' Such characterizations of the allegedly defamatory statements further support Defendants' position that reasonable people would not accept such statements as fact but view them only as claims that await testing by the courts through the adversary process."
According to BuzzFeed News, Powell’s lawyers argue that the blame lies with Trump supporters who adopted conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. She also moved for a change of venue from Washington, D.C. to Texas.
Powell appeared at a November press conference with Rudy Giuliani during which the two pushed conspiracy theories regarding the election results. The Trump campaign later moved to distance itself from Powell, but CNN reports that Trump enjoyed her appearances on conservative talk shows and considered naming her a special counsel to investigate voter fraud.
Dominion has also filed lawsuits against Giuliani and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell for pushing conspiracy claims against the companies. A second company that makes voting software, Smartmatic, has also filed lawsuits against Powell and Giuliani, as well as Fox News and several of its hosts.
