Donald Trump's "big lie" has resulted in yet another lawsuit against the former president and some of his top legal advisers, including personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.
"In a 60-page lawsuit, James Savage, the voting machine warehouse custodian in Delaware County, says that in the aftermath of Trump's effort, he suffered two heart attacks and has regularly received threats," Politico reported Tuesday night.
Savage is suing for defamation and civil conspiracy, seeking a jury trial and monetary damages.
"The lawsuit is the latest in a series by targets of Trump's false voter fraud claims seeking compensation for the wreckage they say Trump left as he and his allies pushed claims about malfeasance by state and local election officials," Politico reports. "Trump or his campaign, and many of his allies, have faced suits from employees of Dominion Voting Systems, Capitol Police officers who responded to the violent Jan. 6 attack and members of Congress who fled the pro-Trump mob seeking to halt certification of the election."
Savage's attorney, J. Conor Corcoran, wrote in his complaint: "Simply put, Mr. Savage's physical safety, and his reputation, were acceptable collateral damage for the wicked intentions of the Defendants herein ... executed during their lubricious attempt to question the legitimacy of President Joseph Biden's win in Pennsylvania."
According to Savage's complaint, although Trunp and others didn't typically name him in public statements, they referred to his job title, and he was "the only Chief Custodian/Voting Machine Warehouse Supervisor position in Delaware County."
Savage had "no ability to conduct vote tabulation whatsoever," the suit states. However, two GOP poll watchers — Greg Stenstrom and Leah Hoopes — accused him of tampering with machines by illegally uploading votes.
"Those claims became part of a patchwork of easily debunked allegations that Trump and his allies relied on to sow doubts about the integrity of the vote," Politico reports, noting that during a public hearing called by Pennsylvania Republicans, Stenstro and Hoopes testified that they witnessed Savage uploading USB cards to the machines that altered the tabulation by 50,000 votes.
"Trump, who called into the Pennsylvania hearing, referenced the 50,000 vote figure in his remarks but didn't identify Savage specifically," Politico reports. "Stenstrom repeated those claims at a subsequent press conference, in an interview with Fox's Sean Hannity and in an affidavit filed in multiple lawsuits supporting Trump's effort to overturn Biden's victory in Pennsylvania."
In addition to Trump and Giuliani, Savage's lawsuit names as defendants Stenstrom, Hoopes and Trump attorney Jenna Ellis — whom Politico notes "has largely escaped investigators' scrutiny so far."
