Former President Donald Trump. Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesTwo lawyers challenged the 2020 election results were sanctioned by a Colorado federal judge.He called their claims "fantastical", and "the stuff from which violent insurrections can be made."Because Joe Biden won the presidency election, the lawyers demanded $160 billion in damages.Check out more stories from Insider's business page.A Colorado federal judge has sanctioned attorneys who filed a lawsuit challenging the results of the 2020 presidential elections and seeking $160 billion in damages. They called their conspiratorial claims "the stuff that violent insurrections can be made."US Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter's Wednesday ruling concluded that the lawsuit was "filed in bad faith"; he orders Ernest J. Walker, and Gary D. Fielder to pay the fees and expenses of the opposing attorneys. They are not prohibited from practicing law.Neureiter stated that the lawsuit was filed without any investigation into the law or (under the circumstances), the facts. "The lawsuit made or repeated in the public record highly inflamatory and damaging allegations that could have endangered individuals' safety. This was recklessness at its worst.The suit was filed more than one month after Donald Trump's defeat in 2020. Despite being filed in Colorado, it names as defendants governors and secretaries for state in swing states that Trump lost to Joe Biden.Plaintiffs - a small group of Trump supporters who declared that they believe the election results were rigged and were upset their Facebook posts had been deleted. They also claimed they didn't want COVID-19 vaccinations and were named as Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chau, Dominion Voting Systems and Dominion Voting Systems.Continue the storyNeureiter's ruling criticised the attorneys in harsh terms for purporting "represent 160 millions American registered voters" and seeking to nullify the "actions by multiple state legislatures and municipalities and state courts". Then, Neureiter demanded a "nominal amount $1,000 per registered voter" of damages. This would be more than the annual GDP in Hungary.Neureiter stated that there was no slip-and fall at the local grocery shop. "Albeit disorganized, and fantastical, these Complaint's claims are extraordinarily grave and, if accepted by large numbers of persons, could be the stuff of which violent rebellions are made."Lawyers' "massive copy-and-paste job" used claims from other unsuccessful lawsuits.Judge noted that sanctions were justified because the attorneys had not brought the lawsuit based upon the claims of those they represented."It should also be noted that this lawsuit was not client-driven. Neureiter wrote that Mr. Fielder, Plaintiffs' counsel, admitted at the July 16 hearing that the lawsuit was his idea. "Mr. Fielder, Mr. Walker did not use information from named Plaintiffs to build the suit nor for any substantive facts allegations."Neureiter claimed that Walker and Fielder acted in an improper manner by not researching any factual basis for the claims that the 2020 election results had been rigged. Neureiter also filed a Colorado claim against officials from Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia.Neureiter also criticised the lawyers' "massive copy-and-paste job." They recited claims from Sidney Powell (Trump-affiliated lawyer) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton). Both of these lawyers failed to challenge the election results.Lawyers retold claims from Sidney Powell who was involved in several unsuccessful lawsuits to reverse the election results. Associated PressThey were also criticised by the judge for including a fake Trump tweet about "Dominion deleting 2 million Trump votes nationwide." Neureiter stated that Fielder was Trump's president when he was asked about the claim.Neureiter wrote that "Under these circumstances, with this election with this insurrection and with the on-going threats for election officials and employees, including in federal filings as if they were true such an inflammatory and damaging allegation without any attempt to verify it simply because the outgoing President had said them was reckless and didn't represent a reasonable inquiry given the circumstances."Business Insider has the original article.
