Sidney Powell, a onetime high-profile member of former President Donald Trump's legal team, asked a federal court on Monday to dismiss Dominion Voting System's $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit against her, arguing that "no reasonable person" would mistake her baseless accusations of an elaborate multinational, communist election-rigging scheme as "truly statements of fact."
In fact, Powell's claims were just "opinions and legal theories," her lawyers argued, as well as constitutionally protected "political speech" and "hyperbole." At the same time, the motion contends, Dominion won't be able to prove any "actual malice" on Powell's part because "she believed the allegations then and she believes them now."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Ukraine hints at end to 'hot war' with Russia in 2025Talking Points Could the new year see an end to the worst European violence of the 21st Century?
-
What does the FDIC do?In the Spotlight Deposit insurance builds confidence in the banking system
-
2024: The year of conspiracy theoriesIN THE SPOTLIGHT Global strife and domestic electoral tensions made this year a bonanza for outlandish worldviews and self-justifying explanations
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suitSpeed Read The lawsuit stemmed from George Stephanopoulos' on-air assertion that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments lawSpeed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security lawSpeed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitutionspeed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidenceSpeed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulationsSpeed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriageSpeed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
