Federal judge blasts Pro-Trump lawyers who filed lawsuits to steal the election

A federal judge on Monday laced into lawyers involved in a failed lawsuit that sought to overturn former President Donald Trump’s loss in Michigan, accusing the lawyers of making “fantastical” claims.

U.S. District Court Judge Linda Parker made the remarks during a sanctions hearing for lawyers Sidney Powell and Lin Wood — two of the highest-profile figures involved in pushing Donald Trump’s election conspiracy theories about election fraud — as well as a handful of other lawyers involved in the unsuccessful litigation in Michigan.

Parker dismissed the lawsuit in question back in December 2020, writing in her decision that the lawyers asked “this court to ignore the orderly statutory scheme established to challenge elections and to ignore the will of millions of voters. This, the Court cannot, and will not, do. The people have spoken.”

The city of Detroit is seeking sanctions against Powell, Wood, and a handful of other lawyers involved in the failed suit.

The city’s lawyer, David Fink, called the litigation an “embarrassment to the legal profession” during the Monday hearing, adding that it also damaged institutions of government by spreading the “Big Lie” that the 2020 election was stolen, Law & Crime’s Adam Klasfeld reported.

Throughout the roughly six-hour-long hearing, Parker showed signs that she believed the Trump-supporting lawyers’ conduct was concerning and even grew frustrated with the lawyers as they sought to defend themselves and their behavior.

Parker, for example, did not appear open to Wood’s argument that he had nothing to do with the lawsuit even though his name was on it.

“I played absolutely no role in the drafting of the complaint,” Wood said during the hearing, according to Law & Crime.

“This appears to the court to be an after-the-fact assessment,” Parker replied.

Aside from not letting Wood distance himself from the suit,  the judge also chastised the Trump-supporting lawyers over affidavits the lawyers filed that they claimed were proof of their voter fraud lies.

The affidavits included, in some cases, hearsay or outright lies — including information from a man who was falsely identified as a “military intelligence expert” while he was instead a former army mechanic.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen an affidavit that makes so many leaps,” Parker said of one document the lawyers said proved their lies about voter fraud. “This is really fantastical. So my question to counsel here is: How could any of you as officers of the court present this affidavit?”

Parker has not yet made her decision on sanctions.

However, Detroit is asking for the lawyers to be fined, banned from practicing law in the Eastern District of Michigan, and even referred to the Michigan state bar for revocation of their law licenses.

If the lawyers are punished, they wouldn’t be the first Trump-supporting lawyers to face repercussions for their roles in trying to overturn the election through the courts.

Former Trump campaign lawyer Rudy Giuliani was barred from practicing law in New York for making “demonstrably false” statements. Giuliani’s license to practice law in Washington, D.C., was also suspended.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.