Former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell accuses Reuters of overturning US election

By Jan Wolfe and David Thomas

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Monday is likely to ban former Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell and other lawyers in a lawsuit filed in Michigan to overturn Democratic President Joe Biden’s election victory.

U.S. District Judge Linda Parker of the United States has suggested that pro-Trump attorneys should look into the allegations that the former Republican president’s election fraud should be carefully investigated.

“Should a lawyer be punished for the false truths that the attorney did not disclose?” Parker said in a video conference trial. “Is it punishable behavior?”

He said he believes the affidavits in the case were filed in “bad faith.”

Parker held a hearing to determine whether other lawyers in favor of Powell, Lin Wood and Trump should be disciplined last November because of widespread voter fraud in Michigan’s U.S. presidential election and made unfounded claims.

They are not the only lawyers allied with Trump to make false claims that the election defeat that landed in the hot water was the result of fraud. New York State and Washington, DC, have been suspended in recent weeks https://www.reuters.com/world/us/rudolph-giuliani-is-suspended-law-practice-new-york-state-2021-06- The 24-year-old New York mayor and Trump confidant after seeing Rudy Giuliani’s legal license lie in favor of Trump’s claims.

Parker dismissed the Michigan lawsuit last December, and in a written decision said Powell’s voter fraud was “just speculation and conjecture,” and in any case, Powell waited too long to file his lawsuit.

Parker did not decide whether to impose judicial sanctions on Powell and his associates in the early hours of the hearing, or whether to direct the dissolution procedure to a regulatory body.

But a large portion of Monday’s hearing was spent before Powell and other attorneys on the grill examined whether they could swear allegations of Michigan voter fraud before filing in federal court.

“I don’t think I saw an affidavit that makes so many leaps. That’s really wonderful,” Parker said. “So here’s my question for advice: how can he file this affidavit as a judicial officer?”

Powell asserted that hundreds of pages of affidavits showed that they had done enough due diligence, and that the only way to test them would be at trial or at a trial hearing. His partner repeatedly asked him to make a test appearance.

Beginning in January, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and other government attorneys asked the court to discipline pro-Trump attorneys, saying he presented false allegations that should be filled with error and factual errors and should be held accountable.

“What they presented was a disgrace to the legal profession,” Detroit City Attorney David Fink said in a hearing Monday. “This was a rude and irresponsible effort.”

Powell replaced Trump’s campaign when he tried to cancel the November 3 presidential election in the courts. He campaigned away from Powell at a Nov. 19 press conference to claim without proof that electronic voting systems have shifted millions of votes to Biden.

On Nov. 25, a group of attorneys led by Powell filed a lawsuit on behalf of Michigan Republicans alleging voter fraud. Trump also wanted to be named the winner of the Midwestern state election and voted for Michigan in the U.S. Electoral College, as he formally selects the winner of the presidential race.

At the hearing, Parker asked Powell and his associates why they did not voluntarily dismiss the Michigan case on Dec. 14 when the Electoral College confirmed Biden’s victory.

“Why didn’t the plaintiffs accept this lawsuit as a matter of debate and dismiss it on that date?” Parker asked.

A Michigan attorney representing Donald Campbell, Sidney Powell and other attorneys has responded that the election is “light” and unpredictable, and a pro-Trump legal group believes his lawsuit was still viable as of Dec. 14.