Sidney Powell (Fox News video screenshot)
Lawyer Sidney Powell, who had brought many of the lawsuits alleging election fraud across the United States in the 2020 presidential election, on Friday was sued on Dominion Voting Systems, makers of machines that count votes, for $1.3 billion in damages, for stating those systems were faulty.
There is no doubt the machines were involved in a Michigan county’s reporting of a Joe Biden victory in November, when the truth was the vote was that President Trump won, and officials there explained that away as a failure to update software.
There have been numerous other claims about voting machines used during the 2020 balloting, including that some could be programmed to flip votes from President Trump to Biden.
NPR, which characterized Powell’s claims during the course of her arguments as “false,” said the case was filed in Washington and seeks $1.3 billion for Dominion.
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It’s a defamation case, which means Dominion would need to prove the falsity of the statements.
According to Allaw.com, truth is an “absolute defense” in such claims, and it noted that the proof of such truth often depends on the documents, information, and evidence that is revealed during a pretrial “discovery” period during which evidence is obtained.
Those channels include interrogatories, during which Dominion officials would be required to answer Powell’s questions about their company under oath, a similar situation for depositions, and the request for documents that Powell could pursue.
The organization explained, “During discovery, generally, the evidence must only be able to reasonably lead to other matters that could bear on an issue in the case.”
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The Dominion system, while used in multiple states, was rejected in Texas where officials had concerns about its operations.
NPR charged that experts “have wondered whether the company would be able to survive after the onslaught of accusations by the Trump campaign.”
“Even if the allegations appear ridiculous, the company’s fate still is complicated if Republican elected officials become torn about engaging with a vendor that Trump and his supporters have tarred,” NPR said.
In the NPR report, Joe Kiniry, who runs vote technology’s Free & Fair, said, “When you run out of gas in this industry, it’s either because you run out of cash or you run out of reputation.”
Dominion claimed it would lose $200 million in profits over the coming five years as a result of Powell’s comments.
John Poulos, Dominion’s chief, said his company workers’ “lives have been upended” by the situation.
The filing charges both workers and other election officials have been threatened because of Powell’s statements.
The report said Dominion worker Eric Coomer told Colorado Public Radio he was hiding now, “actually am in fear for my safety,” following the election controversies.
He previously sued over the statements.
Lawyers.com pointed out that if the case progresses both sides will be required to respond “truthfully and in writing” to questions from the other side.
Even a conclusion that the Dominion machines were accurate, however, likely would not dispel all concerns about the 2020 election, as other allegations have been made that fake ballots were used in the case. In one case, in Georgia, concerns were raised when poll watchers were sent home, then poll workers brought out suitcases of ballots that had been concealed under a table and ran them through counting machines.
The company said it has “mountains” of evidence against Powell, and is taking the action because officials in a number of states, Florida, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Michigan included, have stated their intent to review their agreements with Dominion.
The New York Post said Dominion earlier had told Powell to quit making her statements, or it would sue.
The report said Dominion spent $565,000 hiring security and spent another $1.1 to “mitigate the harm to its reputation.”
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