Sidney Powell Seeks to Dismiss Dominion’s $1.3 Billion Lawsuit

Sidney Powell speaks during a press conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington on Nov. 19, 2020. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Attorney Sidney Powell, who filed third-party lawsuits to aid former President Donald Trump in his post-election legal fight, is seeking to dismiss a $1.3 billion lawsuit that Dominion Voting Systems filed against her.

Powell said via her attorneys that the lawsuit should be dismissed as it was filed in the wrong jurisdiction, while adding that her claims about Dominion were protected under the First Amendment of the Constitution. Her team also requested that the lawsuit be moved to Texas from the District of Columbia if it isn’t thrown out.

“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,” her lawyers said in a motion (pdf) filed on March 22. “Sidney Powell disclosed the facts upon which her conclusions were based.”

Dominion, in a statement to Bloomberg News in response to her motion, said Powell’s lawsuit contradicts her previous statements.

“Powell’s attempt to dismiss the case contradicts her claim that she wants to present her evidence in court,” Dominion attorney Tom Clare said. “Dominion Voting Systems is eager for the case to move forward and intends to hold Powell accountable.”

But Powell’s lawyers contended on March 22 that “all the allegedly defamatory statements attributed to defendants were made as part of the normal process of litigating issues of momentous significance and immense public interest,” adding that “the statements were tightly focused on the legal theories they were advancing in litigation and the evidence they had presented, or were going to present, to the courts in support of their claims” of election fraud.

Her lawyers further argued that Powell’s claims about Dominion and election fraud post-Nov. 3, 2020, were “public announcements,” saying they served to disclose the “status of cases” that were filed in court.

“Such announcements are routine by lawyers engaged in public interest litigation, including the U.S. Justice Department,” Powell’s lawyers said.

Dominion also filed lawsuits seeking $1.3 billion each against MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

In its lawsuit against Powell filed in January, Dominion said that she “caused unprecedented harm” to the firm.

“As a result of the defamatory falsehoods peddled by Powell—in concert with likeminded allies and media outlets who were determined to promote a false preconceived narrative—Dominion’s founder, Dominion’s employees, Georgia’s governor, and Georgia’s secretary of state have been harassed and have received death threats, and Dominion has suffered enormous harm,” Dominion’s lawyers said in January.

Dominion’s lawyers stated that they sent a letter to Powell formally warning her to stop making statements about the company or she would face legal action. The suit also listed “Defending the Republic, Inc.,” a company that Powell used for fundraising purposes as a defendant.

Separately, the Supreme Court on March 1 rejected Powell’s lawsuits challenging the results in Arizona and Wisconsin—offering no comment.

One of Powell’s mandamus petitions stated: “A submission directly to this Court seeking an extraordinary writ of mandamus is unusual, but it has its foundation. While such relief is rare, this Court will grant it ‘where a question of public importance is involved, or where the question is of such a nature that it is peculiarly appropriate that such action by this Court should be taken.’”

Powell appeared alongside Trump’s lawyers, including Giuliani and Jenna Ellis, in December as they announced a series of legal challenges after the election. About a week later, Giuliani confirmed that Powell wasn’t part of Trump’s team.