Attorney Sidney Powell and other lawyers who filed lawsuits to support former President Donald Trump’s claims about the 2020 election were summoned by a judge to a sanctions hearing in Michigan.
U.S. District Judge Linda Parker ordered Powell—who filed a series of third-party lawsuits in Michigan and other states—and the other lawyers to appear at a July 6 hearing, according to court documents (pdf) filed on Thursday.
“Each attorney whose name appears on any of Plaintiffs’ pleadings or briefs shall be present at the motion hearing set for July 6, 2021” at 2 p.m. ET in Detroit, the single-line order from Parker read. It concerned a lawsuit, King v. Whitmer, which was filed last year and alleged President Joe Biden’s victory was the result of fraud and asked electors in Michigan to discard the certification of the state’s results.
The Epoch Times has contacted Powell for comment. She hasn’t made any comments about the development on her Telegram page.
Last year, Parker sided with Michigan state officials and wrote an opinion that the relief being sought in King v. Whitmer, referring to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, “would disenfranchise the votes of the more than 5.5 million Michigan citizens.”
The other lawyers who were summoned to appear in court are Greg Rohl, Scott Hagerstrom, and Stefanie Junttila, as reported by the Detroit Free Press.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, asked the court in January to sanction Powell and alleged she, Rohl, Hagerstrom, and Junttila “pursued a frivolous lawsuit” in “violation of their oaths as attorneys.” The City of Detroit in December 2020 also had asked the court (pdf) to sanction Powell.
In response to a separate defamation lawsuit, lawyers for Powell—a former federal prosecutor who successfully defended retired Lt. Gen Michael Flynn—argued (pdf) that her remarks about the Nov. 3 election are protected under the Constitution. Powell’s comments to media outlets about the election were of “public concern” and are, therefore, not defamatory, her lawyers said.
“There can be no doubt that the statements at issue here relate to matters of public concern,” Powell’s lawyers said.
The comments, the lawyers added, “involve the 2020 presidential election and specifically address the reliability of the voting machines and processes used to determine the results of that election,” according to the documents. “The complaint itself contains scores of references to tweets from President Donald Trump, statements by public officials, the content of related litigation, and national press coverage of the issues.”
