Michigan AG May Seek Sanctions for Lawyers Questioning Election Results

Michigan AG May Seek Sanctions for Lawyers Questioning Election Results
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel speaks during a news conference in Lansing, Mich., on March 5, 2020. David Eggert/AP Photo
Zachary Stieber
Updated:

Michigan’s attorney general says that some lawyers who filed briefs seeking to change election results should be disciplined.

Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, said she plans to ask for sanctions against some of the attorneys, including Sidney Powell, who have filed suits with alleged or confirmed links to President Donald Trump’s campaign.

“When we talk about sanctions, she and many of the other lawyers involved in some of these lawsuits on behalf of the Trump campaign have violated rules of professional conduct for every state in the Union, according to the American Bar Association,” Nessel said during a recent appearance on CNN. “So we'd be asking that there be disciplinary action taken against her law license.”

Nessel said she’s planning to file complaints with the Attorney Grievance Commission, which is the adjudicative arm of the Michigan Supreme Court. According to the commission’s website, anyone may file a request for an investigation against an attorney licensed by the State Bar of Michigan for alleged misconduct.

Nessel said she'd be asking for court costs and attorney fees in addition to sanctions.

An attorney representing Wayne County resident Robert Davis that same day filed a motion asking for sanctions against the lawyers representing the plaintiffs in King v. Whitmer, a case alleging election fraud and asking a judge to order President Donald Trump be declared the winner of Michigan.

“In this case, the Court is compelled to act by sanctioning the egregious conduct of the Plaintiffs and their attorneys for making clearly frivolous arguments and using the judicial system to obtain unprecedented relief, to satisfy Plaintiffs’ selfish and destructive political agendas,” the filing states.

Lawyer Sidney Powell departs a press conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, on Nov. 19, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)
Lawyer Sidney Powell departs a press conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, on Nov. 19, 2020. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

The city of Detroit filed a similar motion. “Plaintiffs and their counsel surely know that this case is built on lie upon lie, each easily disproven by basic objective facts. They know that their so-called experts rely on conspiracy theories to spew obviously flawed conclusions, based on junk science. But they choose to deliberately spread their falsehoods by filing them with this Court and not withdrawing them when given the opportunity,” city lawyers wrote.

Gregory Rohl, one of the lawyers for plaintiffs in the case, told The Epoch Times via email: “I became involved not to interfere with who became President but to ensure that whomever was so elected had no taint staining their Presidency. I was not paid for what I did, because I felt it was my duty to do so. Whoever wins I will happily call Mr President. To now have someone call my actions into question and seek to sanction me for them is reminiscent of a past dark age we should all not soon forget.”

Powell and another lawyer, Scott Hagerstrom, didn’t immediately respond to requests by The Epoch Times for comment.

Powell wrote on Twitter recently that “we are squarely over the target,” alleging that hundreds of thousands of fake ballots were cast during the election.

Nessel also singled out Matthew DePerno during a press call on Dec. 22, according to The Detroit News. DePerno is representing William Bailey, an Antrim County voter. He successfully obtained a forensic audit of voting machines in the county. The resulting report on the audit concluded that Dominion Voting Systems machines and software are designed to create fraud and influence election results, a charge Dominion has vociferously denied.

“I think we need to go back to a time where you can trust an attorney is making an accurate and truthful representation to the court, because if they don’t, then they won’t be able to practice law anymore,” Nessel said.

Trump weighed in on Dec. 27: “These lawyers are true patriots who are fighting for the truth and, obviously, getting very close. AG should be sanctioned. Fight on!”

DePerno thanked the president for his post, writing in a tweet: “Thank you Mr. President for drawing attention to the #fascist Dana Nessel and her threats against attorneys.”

Zachary Stieber
Zachary Stieber
Senior Reporter
Zachary Stieber is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times based in Maryland. He covers U.S. and world news. Contact Zachary at [email protected]
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