A federal judge in Detroit on Wednesday sanctioned Sidney Powell and Lin Wood, along with other pro-Trump lawyers who brought frivolous lawsuits to overturn Joe Biden’s election in 2020.
In the ruling, U.S. District Judge Linda Parker said that Powell and Wood should have investigated Trump’s claims of voter fraud more closely, and suggested they might deserve to lose their law licenses.
Parker formally requested that disciplinary bodies investigate whether the pro-Trump lawyers should have their law licenses revoked. The judge also ordered the lawyers to attend classes on the ethical and legal requirements for filing legal claims, and to reimburse election officials for expenses incurred defending the lawsuit.
Parker said these lawyers “have scorned their oath, flouted the rules, and attempted to undermine the integrity of the judiciary along the way.”
“This lawsuit represents a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process,” Parker said in her decision, adding that the case “was never about fraud – it was about undermining the People’s faith in our democracy and debasing the judicial process to do so.”
“Sanctions are required to deter the filing of future frivolous lawsuits designed primarily to spread the narrative that our election processes are rigged and our democratic institutions cannot be trusted,” the judge wrote in a 110-page opinion.
Parker said the lawyers must reimburse the City of Detroit and the State of Michigan for the costs incurred for seeking the sanctions. The judge is also referring her decision to the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission, and “the appropriate disciplinary authority for the jurisdiction(s) where each attorney is admitted,” for potential disciplinary action.