Dominion Voting Systems sued former Rudolph W. Giuliani, President Trump’s personal lawyer, for defamation on Monday.
The company, which provided voting machines to about two dozen states, said Mr. Giuliani made a number of false statements about its conduct during the November elections as he accused Dominion of wrongdoing.
The company said Mr. Giuliani made those accusations while knowing they were false.
The lawsuit pointed to a court case in Pennsylvania, which challenged Republicans’ inability to review mail-in ballots, during which Mr. Giuliani told the judge the Trump campaign was not contesting fraud.
“Although he was unwilling to make false fraud claims about Dominion and its voting machines in a court of law because he knew those allegations are false, 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 lawsuit read.
In legal documents, the company said Mr. Giuliani peddled false claims that the election was fixed, although recounts have shown Dominion machines accurately counted votes in the November election.
“Dominion brings this action to set the record straight,” the complaint adds.
The company, which is seeking $1.3 billion in damages, filed the lawsuit filed in D.C. District Court.
Specifically, Dominion argued the false information caused its employees to receive death threats, leading the company to hire security at a cost of more than $565,000. The company also argued it spent almost $1.2 million defending its reputation.
The legal filing also expresses concern about a loss of revenue, noting that some states are reviewing their contracts with the company following the false claims.
Mr. Giuliani on Monday said the lawsuit will allow him to probe the company’s finances, practice and history.
“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,” Mr. Giuliani said.
A similar lawsuit was filed against pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, who argued in federal court filings in Georgia, Michigan and Arizona that the company had ties to software developed by the late Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez to “steal” elections.
Her legal actions did not sue Dominion, but instead named state officials as defendants.
Ms. Powell’s lawsuit charged that the company’s machines could be connected to the internet in violation of election laws.
L. Lin Wood, another pro-Trump lawyer who has worked with Ms. Powell, is representing her.
He called the defamation lawsuit by Dominion a move “to censor speech or try to intimidate people from telling the truth.”
The Supreme Court refused to expedite a challenge out of Georgia brought by Ms. Powell, and she withdrew the case pending before the high court last week.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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