Three major defamation lawsuits from Dominion Voting Systems against MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and the right-wing lawyers Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani will move forward toward a trial, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday.
Dominion is seeking billions of dollars in damages, claiming it was harmed by the unfounded claims of election fraud made by the confidants of former President Donald Trump. The company provides election equipment used by more than 40% of US voters. It has repeatedly denied all allegations of election fraud.
Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee to the DC District Court, wrote in his opinion Wednesday that Powell's statements couldn't be excused by political speech protections and that she wasn't protected as an attorney, either.
"Powell cannot shield herself from liability for her widely disseminated out-of-court statements by casting them as protected statements about in-court litigation; an attorney's out-of-court statements to the public can be actionable, even if those statements concern contemplated or ongoing litigation," Nichols wrote.