While Giulliani sought to dismiss his lawsuit on procedural grounds, attorneys for Powell and Lindell claimed during a June hearing they could not be sued for defamation because they stood by their fraud claims and Dominion could not prove the allegations were made with “actual malice” knowing they were false.

U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols had taken issue with some of the Trump allies’ legal arguments during a hearing, suggesting he was inclined to rule against them, such as by pushing back against Lindell equating broad investigations into the 2020 election with his specific allegations of Dominion voting machines being used for fraud and saying the two were “wildly different kinds of statements.”…

The ruling in the Dominion case will likely have an effect on Lindell and MyPillow’s two separate countersuits against Dominion, which have been put on hold pending Nichols’ decision on whether Dominion’s lawsuits could move forward. As Dominion’s lawsuit against Fox News proceeds in state court, Powell, Giuliani and Lindell could also play a role there, as Dominion has issued subpoenas to the three Trump allies calling on them to turn over their communications with Fox News about Dominion as part of the lawsuit.

In addition to the Dominion lawsuits, voting machine company Smartmatic has also filed its own defamation lawsuit against Powell, Giuliani, Fox News and several of its anchors over fraud claims involving their machines. The GOP plaintiffs have also moved to dismiss that suit, which is moving forward in New York state court.