I have successfully defended my writing here at Hogewash! and related public comments from eight lawsuits alleging defamation, five as a pro se defendant. Only one of those cases made it all the way to trial, and my codefendants and I were granted a directed verdict because the plaintiff did not meet his burden to prove what we had written and said was false. If I properly understand what my lawyers have told me, truth is an absolute defense to a defamation claim everywhere in the U. S., but there are some jurisdictions that place a particular burden on a defamation plaintiff to proof the offending remarks are false. Maryland is one. It looks to me that the District of Columbia is another.

The burden of proving falsity rests squarely on the plaintiff. He or she must demonstrate either that the statement is factual and untrue, or an opinion based implicitly on facts that are untrue. Lane v. Random House, Inc., 985 F.Supp. 141, 151 (D.D.C. 1995)

Dominion Systems is suing Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani for defamation in DC. It will be interesting to see how they prove what the defendants have said is false.