The city of Detroit is asking a federal court to sanction attorney Sidney Powell and other lawyers involved in filing a suit that sought to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Michigan.
Powell, who is no longer associated with President Donald Trump's campaign, promised to release "the Kraken" in a series of suits but has been unsuccessful so far, with courts in four states dismissing appeals for relief arising from unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud.
Now, Detroit is seeking fines for Powell and the other attorneys and asking that they be banned from practicing law in the Eastern District of Michigan. The motion also asks that they face sanction by the Michigan state bar.
"Plaintiffs and their counsel understood that the mere filing of a suit (no matter how frivolous) could, without any evidence, raise doubts in the minds of millions of Americans about the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election," lawyer David Fink wrote in the motion.
"As this Court noted, 'Plaintiffs ask the Court to ignore the orderly statutory scheme established to challenge elections and to ignore the will of millions of voters."
Fink is referring to a ruling by federal District Judge Linda Parker, who previously dismissed the Michigan "Kraken" suit. Powell is attempting to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, bypassing the federal courts of appeal.
"The key 'factual' allegations from the supposed fact witnesses, some of whom attempt to cloak their identities while attacking democracy, have been debunked," the Detroit motion goes on.
"The allegations about supposed fraud in the processing and tabulation of absentee ballots by the City at the TCF Center have been rejected by every court which has considered them. If any of the claims in this lawsuit had merit, that would have been demonstrated in those cases."
Powell and her co-counsels have 21 days to withdraw their litigation before a sanctions request is filed. The motion has not yet been filed. However, even if the case is withdrawn, Parker could choose to impose sanctions on her own initiative.
If the sanctions motion proceeds, Powell could be forced to pay a $100,000 bond before filing further appeals of the suit. This would be in addition to measures requested by Detroit.
It's not clear yet whether Parker will allow the motion for sanctions to move forward but she was critical of Powell's suit in her ruling dismissing it, writing: "Plaintiffs ask this court to ignore the orderly statutory scheme established to challenge elections and to ignore the will of millions of voters."
"This, the Court cannot, and will not, do," Parker said.
