A federal judge appointed by Barack Obama has ordered several attorneys to pay huge fines over cases related to the 2020 election.
The group of lawyers, including Sidney Powell and Lin Wood, sued the state of Michigan over the disputed 2020 election results.
U.S. District Judge Linda Parker has just ruled that the lawyers must pay about $175,000.
Judge Parker ordered nine attorneys — including Powell and Wood — to pay $21,964.75 to Michigan and $153,285.62 to the city of Detroit, according to Forbes.
Parker wrote in her opinion that the amount was an “appropriate sanction … needed to deter Plaintiffs’ counsel and others from engaging in similar misconduct in the future.”
Parker has said the attorneys’ lawsuit was “a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process.”
“This case was never about fraud — it was about undermining the People’s faith in our democracy and debasing the judicial process to do so,” she wrote in August when she ruled against the attorneys.
“We disagree with the district court’s decision in its entirety and we plan to promptly appeal to the Sixth Circuit,” said Howard Kleinhendler, one of the lawyers, who also represents Powell, The Washington Post reported.
Wood also said he will appeal.
“I undertook no act in Michigan and I had no involvement in the Michigan lawsuit filed by Sidney Powell,” he said.
Parker ordered the attorneys to undergo at least 12 hours of “continuing legal education” on pleading standards and election law.
The attorneys were also referred to disciplinary boards in the places where they are licensed “for investigation and possible suspension or disbarment.”
Their lawsuit had argued that President Joe Biden’s win in Michigan came through fraud and called for former President Donald Trump to be declared the winner of the Michigan vote.
Parker dismissed the suit in December, saying that it was based on “nothing but speculation and conjecture.”
David Fink, a lawyer for the city of Detroit, said the lawyers “abused the federal courts to advance the big lie,” according to the Post.
They must pay a price for their misconduct, and this ruling is a good start,” he said.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said the attorneys being punished “worked to distort our democracy in favor of lining their own pockets,” the Post reported.
“These attorneys demonstrated a flagrant disregard for the law and attempted to use the courts to further a false and destructive narrative,” Nessel said.
“While there is likely no amount of money that can undo the damage they caused, I am happy to see these sanctions handed down.”
