Today, voting equipment company Dominion sued Guliani for 1,3 billion dollars for defamation.
My question, why sue Guliani? Why not Trump or Fox News? Guliani doesn’t have millions.
I’m certain Dominion has no expectations that they’re going to recover anything like $1.3 billion from Giuliani. They understand he doesn’t have that kind of money, but their plan at this point has less to do with money than providing deterrence. They’ve targeted individuals who invoked their company’s name in connection with groundless conspiracy theories to make examples of them. Seems to be working. Folks like Trump, Lou Dobbs, and other fascists are shutting the eff up - at least as far as spreading that particular conspiracy theory - since they sent out cease and desist letters and followed up promptly with filing suit.
Because they threatened to sue Fox and Fox ran segments on how everything they said about Dominion was without evidence. They were bullshit segments compared to having the hosts actually apologize, but they could complicate a lawsuit against Fox sufficiently that Dominion doesn’t want the hassle.
Because, as a member of the bar, Giuliani (and Sidney Powell) has some duty to not make false legal claims. I don’t understand all the details, but lawyers are at greater legal risk of slander and libel. Competent lawyers can easily avoid the risk; others may not.
Two possible reasons come to mind.
First, Guiliani was one of the most vocal, making that argument repeatedly in front of the tv cameras. That’s good evidence both of the statements he made, and the potential harm to Dominion’s good reputation, because Guiliani was the one saying it so clearly.
Second, in court, Guiliani never advanced those arguments and specifically said in one court appearance that they were not alleging any fraud. That also is very good evidence for Dominion, that he has contradicted his own position, and has no credibility if he now tries to assert that the machines were fraudulent.
Cardigan, the article said Guliani also got cease and desist letters. Why did he keep repeating the same specific lie while Trump got more vague in his tweets? (“The election was rigged, dead people voting, but I’m not mentioning the voting machines…”)
Maybe Guliani offered himself up to be the target, especially because of the higher standards for lawyers as Pleonast pointed out. He probably does not mind much losing his lawyers license.
Still, it’s kinda weak on Dominions part. They could have gone after Fox much harder and get a deterrant with teeth/money. But Naira is probably right that Fox backpedalled just enough…
Looks like Rudy will bring in enough politics to this lawsuit. From the CNN article in the OP:
“Dominion’s defamation lawsuit for $1.3B will allow me to investigate their history, finances, and practices fully and completely,” Giuliani told CNN in a statement Monday. “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.”
He said he will "investigate a countersuit against them for violating these Constitutional rights."
My bolding.
Locrian, I hate to admit it, but that IS a masterful counterstrike on Guliani’s part. He gets to stay in the news and what can Dominian do? Sue him for 0,5 billion more?
Good point, but what constitutional rights will his suit claim? The right to claim Venezuela is all to blame? 
I think he’ll lose so bad he tries to sue Orangeboy.
I’m not sure it’s so masterful. More like bog-standard practice for a battle held as much in the court of public opinion as the court of law.
“You’re suing me? ME? Oh yeah, I’ll sue you!”
What IS unprecedented (at least since prior to about 6 months ago) is the degree of outright fabrication in the out-of-court statements to the press. Every lawyer talks up their case and belittles the opposition’s. Giuliani would be doing that whether he’s the plaintiff, the respondent, or both simultaneously in separate cases.
Bumped:
Delaware judge rules that Dominion has pled sufficient facts to support malice against Rupert and Lachlan Fox, and thus against Fox News.
Bumped. Trying to do a gift link to a NYT article on the various e-mails and texts that the Foxies were sending each other, expressing their true thoughts on Trump and the “stolen election” claims:
Hey, it worked! (I think)
And then this one: the trial judge in the Delaware court case is allowing it to go to trial, and in the course of rejecting the motion for summary dismissal, made a lot of preliminary findings in Dominion’s favour.
Top picture of the article is the Dominion legal team leaving the courthouse. From their expressions, I think they feel like they’ve done a good job advancing their client’s case.
No matching photo of the Fox legal team.
Above the fold quote:
Ref the last sentence of your excellent quote …
Kinda hard to be champions for the delusional without championing delusion yourself.
Both gift links work, thank you. Fascinating developments!
Next step: Accusing the entire justice system, and the process of logic and evidence itself, of Democratic bias!
It has long been said that reality has a liberal bias. Nice to see the conservatives Reactionary Right finally admitting to the\is fundamental truth.
And here’s the “on the other hand” story, about what Fox has in its corner, particularly the 1st Amendment:
Dominion lawyers continue to have good days in court. Fox lawyers, not so much.
The trial is supposed to start this week and the court is making some pre-trial rulings.
On the weekend, Fox lawyers disclosed that they had just learnt that Rupert Murdoch is considered an exec officer of Fox News. They have been denying that he is part of Fox News since the case started, saying he is only an exec officer for the Fox parent company.
The significance of that is that it limited the questions Dominion could ask of Rupert Murdoch in discovery.
Dominion lawyers have asked the judge to make a jury instruction that Fox did not comply with all of its disclosure obligations. That would be a killer instruction.
Judge is clearly not happy with Fox lawyers, saying that they now have a credibility problem with him.
Dominion lawyers have asked the judge to impose personal sanctions on the Fox lawyers for misleading the court.
They are also saying that there may still be material in Fox’s possession that has not been revealed to them:
It bears out Aristotle’s view that “virtue is not a characteristic. Virtue is a habit.”
So too is lying, it seems. Once an institution gets into a habit of lying, it can’t easily get in the habit of telling the truth. Even when it’s corporate existence may depend on truth-telling.
And in other Fox news: a shareholder is suing Rupert and other Fox execs for letting the lies go on, thereby damaging the value of the shares, contrary to their fiduciary duty to shareholders:
That Daily beast article is a real smoking gun. If Fox is evading discovery to that extent, well, that’s Alex Jones territory. Maybe not a summary judgement but deeply, deeply prejudicial to their case. If I was the judge I’d be pissed.