Defamation lawsuits against three of former President Donald Trump’s allies can move forward, according to a federal judge.
Former federal prosecutor Sidney Powell, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and My Pillow founder Mike Lindell have been accused of making false statements about the Dominion voting equipment company following the 2020 presidential election, as Politico reports.
According to the outlet, they attempted to block the lawsuits, arguing the lawsuits were “legally deficient.” Still, on Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols ruled that the suits could move forward.
“As an initial matter, there is no blanket immunity for statements that are ‘political’ in nature,” Nichols wrote in his opinion.
He added, “It is true that courts recognize the value in some level of ‘imaginative expression’ or ‘rhetorical hyperbole’ in our public debate. … But it is simply not the law that provably false statements cannot be actionable if made in the context of an election.”
Nichols argued many of the comments made by the former president’s allies referenced in the lawsuit qualified as comments that could appear to be making factual claims that could be proven true or false.
“The question, then, is whether a reasonable juror could conclude that Powell’s statements expressed or implied a verifiably false fact about Dominion,” Nichols wrote. “This is not a close call.”
An attorney for Powell, Howard Kleinhendler, issued a statement to Politico responding to the ruling.
“We are disappointed with the Court’s decision,” Kleinhendler said. “However, we now look forward to litigating this case on its merits and proving that Ms. Powell’s statements were accurate and certainly not published with malice. We also anticipate taking full discovery of Dominion including a thorough review of its election software and machines used in the 2020 election.”
A spokesperson for Dominion said the company is “pleased to see this process moving forward to hold Mike Lindell, MyPillow, Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and Defending The Republic accountable.”
Dominion has also filed defamation lawsuits against Newsmax, One America News, and the executives, and Patrick Byrne, the former CEO of Overstock.com, as The Washington Post reports. Additionally, the company has filed another defamation lawsuit against Fox News.
