Former President Donald Trump's months-long smear campaign against the validity of the 2020 election nearly thrust the country into a constitutional crisis after a mob of his extremist supporters stormed the United States Capitol in a deadly failed insurrection.
But Trump wasn't alone in his disinformation.
Conspiracy theorist lawyers Lin Wood and Sidney Powell were among the most prominent purveyors of the lie that the 2020 election was somehow stolen from Trump. The pair held bizarre press conferences, promoted deranged conspiracy theories, and amplified blatant disinformation at every turn.
And now they might pay for it with their law license.
Judge Linda Parker granted sanctions for the pair, along with seven of their colleagues, for a suit they filed in Michigan in an attempt to overturn its election results.
In a scathing ruling, Parker wrote:
"This lawsuit represents a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process. It is one thing to take on the charge of vindicating rights associated with an allegedly fraudulent election. It is another to take on the charge of deceiving a federal court and the American people into believing that rights were infringed, without regard to whether any laws or rights were in fact violated."
The ruling concludes:
"IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall send a copy of this decision to the Attorney Grievance Commission and the appropriate disciplinary authority for the jurisdiction(s) where each attorney is admitted, referring the matter for investigation and possible suspension or disbarment."
People welcomed the highly-anticipated ruling.
The only way we stop the lies is by holding the liars accountable. #DefendDemocracyhttps://twitter.com/AndrewFeinberg/status/1430647645127774210\u00a0\u2026— Jocelyn Benson (@Jocelyn Benson) 1629939579
Actions (FINALLY) have consequences!https://twitter.com/andrewfeinberg/status/1430647645127774210\u00a0\u2026— Opening Arguments (@Opening Arguments) 1629929432
Sometimes referred to as a bench- slap!https://twitter.com/andrewfeinberg/status/1430647645127774210\u00a0\u2026— Kathleen J England (@Kathleen J England) 1629936612
Yay! I missed this. FANTASTIC NEWS! \n\nHopefully includes Rudy & Jenna Ellis too. And Texas\u2019 Paxtonhttps://twitter.com/AndrewFeinberg/status/1430647645127774210\u00a0\u2026— RealRecycledSponge (@RealRecycledSponge) 1629952976
Thank you #JudgeParker for showing us that the truth, rules, & following the law matter! Choices have consequences. Those \u201cattorneys\u201d made their own Trump bed & must now lie in it. #LegalKarmahttps://twitter.com/johnkruzel/status/1430651265688739845\u00a0\u2026— Molly Jayne (@Molly Jayne) 1629976532
This delights me.https://twitter.com/andrewfeinberg/status/1430647645127774210\u00a0\u2026— A T L W X (@A T L W X) 1629982114
During Trump's lame duck period, many of his supporters referred to Powell and Wood as a proverbial "Kraken" that would destroy the nonexistent plot to steal the election when released.
There were no shortage of Kraken jokes to be made.
Judge Parker is Kraken the whip on Trump lawyers\u2019 nonsense!https://twitter.com/andrewfeinberg/status/1430647645127774210\u00a0\u2026— Moe Davis (@Moe Davis) 1629928122
RELEASH THE KRAKEN!https://twitter.com/AndrewFeinberg/status/1430647645127774210\u00a0\u2026— Daniel Burt (@Daniel Burt) 1629930868
Live look at the Kraken after Judge Linda Parker rules: https://twitter.com/AndrewFeinberg/status/1430647645127774210\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/E3BJA4dkbK— Veronica Sixsmith (@Veronica Sixsmith) 1629931455
Awkward.
