Sidney Powell, Lin Wood, and other pro-Trump attorneys who falsely claimed there was election fraud in 2020 are facing a lot of potential legal consequences for their actions. Today some of this played out on Zoom as the lawyers faced a judge. The legal blog Above The Law describes it as “a six-hour slugfest of a sanctions hearing in the Michigan “Kraken” case” where the court “worked to corral a dozen screaming, interrupting, crying, filibustering lawyers.”
A U.S. judge on Monday appeared likely to reprimand Sidney Powell, a former campaign lawyer for Donald Trump, and other attorneys over a lawsuit they filed in Michigan seeking to overturn Democratic President Joe Biden’s election victory.
U.S. District Judge Linda Parker in Detroit suggested the pro-Trump lawyers should have investigated the Republican former president’s voter fraud claims more carefully before suing.
Parker remarked, “The court is concerned that these affidavits were submitted in bad faith.” The court is considering fines and potential disbarment for the attorneys involved.
David Fink, a lawyer for the city of Detroit argued “What they filed was an embarrassment to the legal profession… This was a sloppy and careless effort.”
The defendants didn’t do themselves any favors as they appeared to contradict each other at times. Lawandcrime.com points out Wood “quickly jockeyed to distance himself from the litigation.”
Wood said, “I played absolutely no role in the drafting of the complaint.”
Powell added that she would not have knowingly added Wood’s name without authorization.
“Might there have been a misunderstanding?” she asked, rhetorically. “That’s certainly possible.”
A skeptical Judge Parker added: “This appears to the court to be an after-the-fact assessment.”
The judge didn’t issue a ruling today, but according to Reuters she said she would issue a written ruling “in due course.”
While the hearing was on Zoom, the judge made it clear the proceeding was not to be recorded and shared. Wood could face more legal trouble because it appears he may have broken that order.