Attorneys representing Dominion Voting Systems this week, warning of imminent litigation, demanded that an array of President Donald Trump’s allies cease and desist from making false and “defamatory” claims that the company somehow “rigged or improperly influenced” the 2020 presidential election. The list of individuals and entities sent such letters was long, but perhaps no letter was as scathing as the one sent to Mellissa Carone, the former Dominion contractor and self-proclaimed whistleblower whose testimony before Michigan lawmakers went viral in early December.
Dominion, which supplied hardware and software for voting machines across the country, didn’t pull any punches in calling out Carone for engaging in a “smear campaign against the company,” saying her claims about fraud were “outlandish” and baseless.
“You gained international infamy earlier this month as Rudy Giuliani’s so-called ‘star witness’ who could supposedly corroborate outlandish accusations that Dominion has somehow rigged or otherwise improperly influenced the outcome of the Nov. 2020 U.S. presidential election,” attorneys Thomas Clare and Megan Meier wrote. “Without a shred of corroborating evidence, you have claimed that you witnessed several different versions of voter fraud—ranging from one story involving a van, to other accusations that votes were counted multiple times. You published these statements even though you knew all along that your attacks on Dominion have no basis in reality.”
Carone testified before the Michigan House and Senate Oversight Committees in a “stunt hearing,” saying she worked a 24-hour shift for providing IT support for Dominion voting machines at Detroit’s TCF Center on election day. She also submitted an affidavit in November claiming she witnessed individual ballots being scanned multiple times; she claimed thousands of ballots were being hidden in the vans used to provide food for elections workers.
“Everything that happened at that TCF Center was fraud,” she declared before the Michigan lawmakers.
“Every single thing,” she added.
Footage of her testimony went viral, resulting in her being parodied by Saturday Night Live. In a subsequent interview, Carone said she was “not drunk” during the hearing.
Dominion also took a swipe at Carone’s claims that her work for the company gave her access to any kind of special knowledge about its business processes.
“We write to you now because you have positioned yourself as a prominent leader of the ongoing misinformation campaign by pretending to have some sort of ‘insider’s knowledge’ regarding Dominion’s business activities, when in reality you were hired through a staffing agency for one day to clean glass on machines and complete other menial tasks,” the letter stated.
The letter further demanded that Carone cease making any additional “defamatory claims against Dominion” and preserve all documents relating to such claims, warning her that “litigation regarding these issues is imminent.” Relevant documents include any and all communications Carone may have had with “Kraken” attorney Sidney Powell, Lin Wood, Jenna Ellis, Rudy Giuliani and any other member of the Trump campaign. The lawyers also demand preservation of records for “every” person who has “compensated” Carone—or “any entity” related to her—for “making public statements” about Dominion.
Read the full letter below:
Carone Letter by Law&Crime on Scribd
[image via CNN screengrab]