Topline
A Michigan federal judge sanctioned proTrump lawyers Lin Wood and Sidney Powell for alleged widespread election fraud Wednesday. The attorneys were to face a variety of punishments, including legal education and disbarment for their lawsuit against President Joe Bidens victory in the state.
Sidney Powell, Attorney, speaks at a news conference held at the Republican National Committee... [+] headquarters in Washington, D.C. on November 19, 2020. The Washington Post via Getty Images
The Key Facts
U.S. District Judge Linda Parker ruled that their lawsuit was a serious and historic abuse of the judicial system. She ordered the attorneys pay the defendants' legal fees, and required them to attend 12 hours of continuing education on pleading standards, election law and voting rights. The lawsuit, which alleges widespread fraud in the election, failed in the lower courts as well as at the U.S. Supreme Court. Parker agreed with the defendants and found that the lawyers had abused the judicial system by making claims not supported by evidence or law and instead relied on speculation, conjecture and unwarranted suspicion. They also dragged out the proceedings long after the election results were overturned. Parker agreed with the defendants, ruling that the lawyers abused the judicial process by making claims that were not supported by law or evidence and instead based on speculation, conjecture, and unwarranted suspicion. He also claimed Powell signed his name to the litigation, but he did not know of it. This led to lengthy proceedings, even after the election results had been overturned. Parker did not accept Wood's claim that he shouldn't be sanctioned. He said he shared the responsibility for any sanctionable conduct with other lawyers. Parker also ruled that the far-right lawyer is not credible, and that his social media posts contradict his claims that he wasn't aware of the lawsuit.
Important Quote
Parker said that it is one thing to be charged with vindicating rights in connection with an allegedly fraudulent electoral process. It's quite another to be accused of deceiving the federal court and the American people into believing rights were violated. This is exactly what happened.
Chief Critic
The other lawyers and Powell have not responded to inquiries for comment. Powell claimed that she was defending the Michigan litigation and that her and her co-counsel had practiced law to the highest standards. The attorneys representing the defendants in the sanction motion were themselves accused of using the process for political gamesmanship.
Important Background
In an attempt to reverse the results of the presidential election, the Trump campaign and its allies filed dozens of lawsuits in Michigan. The lawsuit was one of four brought by Powell in battleground states. She called it "releas[ing] the Kraken" after the 1981 film The Clash of the Titans. All of them eventually failed. Parker dismissed the Michigan suit in December. She ruled that the complaint was only speculation and conjecture.
Tangent
Davis also filed a request for Wood's sanction after Davis shared a Telegram video of the proceedings, in violation of court rules. Parker refused to hold Wood in contempt, but she said that she would look into disciplinary action against Wood. She did not rule on Wednesday's motion. However, she did criticize Wood's attempts to get the court to release recordings of the sanctions hearing. She said that this was further evidence that pro-Trump lawyers were trying to use the judicial system to create a public narrative regarding election fraud.
What to Watch
Powell and her aides now face a variety of consequences for their post-election fraud and litigation claims. Powell and her co-counsel also face a separate Wisconsin sanctions request and a disbarment attempt from Michigan state officials. This is separate from their sanction request. Arizona attorneys have filed an ethics complaint against Powell and Wood, as well as other attorneys who were involved in the litigation. Wood is also facing an investigation by the State Bar of Georgia, which could lead to him being barred. After spreading allegations of election fraud involving voting machines, Dominion Voting Systems (Smartmatic) sued Powell for defamation. A federal judge rejected her request that the Dominion lawsuit be dismissed in August.
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