Dominion sues Trump lawyer Giuliani for $1.3bn

Dominion Voting Systems is seeking at least $1.3bn (£950m) of damages from Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuiliani for statements that allegedly damaged its reputation and encouraged death threats against its employees.

The voting machine maker said the former mayor or New York worked with others to promote a "big lie" about the 2020 election being stolen from Trump. It said Giuliani "launched a viral disinformation campaign about Dominion that reached millions of people" and was defamatory.

The company said: "Dominion employees have been stalked, have been harassed and have received death threats; Dominion has been forced to make an expenditure of money to remedy the defamation and to protect the lives of employees; Dominion has lost profits; and Dominion's reputation has been irreparably damaged."

In its claim Dominion asked the court to award it $651,735,000or more in compensation and at least the same sum in punitive damages. Trump attacked Dominion on Twitter as he sought to overturn the result of the presidential election, which Joe Biden won resoundingly. Trump's campaign peaked with the storming of the US Capitol in early January resulting in five deaths.

Dominion's lawsuit against Giuliani, filed on Monday in a District of Columbia federal court, follows a claim brought by the company against Sidney Powell, a rightwing lawyer who represented Trump in post-election litigation.