Washington, D.C. — A federal judge ruled that Smartmatic USA Corp.’s defamation lawsuit against former Trump attorney Sidney Powell can proceed, rejecting Powell’s motion to dismiss several core claims tied to statements about the 2020 election.
In an opinion issued Monday in Smartmatic USA Corp. v. Powell, Judge Carl Nichols of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found that Florida law does not bar Smartmatic from bringing both defamation and injurious falsehood claims based on the same statements. The court also determined that Smartmatic sufficiently alleged damages at this stage of the litigation.
The lawsuit centers on Powell’s public claims that Smartmatic software was involved in widespread election fraud and that government agencies had received “multiple reports of wrongdoing and failures and vulnerabilities” related to Smartmatic and Dominion systems. Powell argued that her statements did not directly assert that Smartmatic’s technology was widely used or hacked.
Judge Nichols wrote that, when viewed in context, a reasonable jury could conclude Powell’s remarks implied widespread use and potential compromise of Smartmatic software, making the claims “plausible on [their] face.” The court emphasized that while some statements may appear ambiguous in isolation, surrounding allegations and context are relevant in assessing defamation claims at the dismissal stage.
The case now moves forward into further proceedings.
Sources:
Discover more from News Facts Network
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
