Current:Home > FinancePro-Trump lawyer removed from Dominion case after leaking documents to cast doubt on 2020 election-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Pro-Trump lawyer removed from Dominion case after leaking documents to cast doubt on 2020 election
View Date:2024-12-23 14:12:40
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A pro-Trump lawyer who is facing felony charges in Michigan of improperly accessing voting equipment following the 2020 presidential election has been disqualified from representing a prominent funder of election conspiracy theorists who is being sued by Dominion Voting Systems.
Michigan lawyer Stefanie Lambert has been representing Patrick Byrne, the founder of Overstock.com, in a defamation lawsuit brought against him by Dominion, one of the main targets of conspiracy theories over former President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss.
Lambert was disqualified from the case on Tuesday after admitting to releasing thousands of confidential discovery documents that she had agreed to keep private.
Due to Lambert’s actions, the documents that all parties “had agreed to keep confidential, have now been shared widely in the public domain,” U.S. District Court Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya wrote in a 62-page opinion.
“Lambert’s repeated misconduct raises the serious concern that she became involved in this litigation for the sheer purpose of gaining access to and publicly sharing Dominion’s protected discovery,” wrote Upadhyaya.
Lambert’s lawyer, Daniel Hartman, said by phone Wednesday that Lambert would be “appealing the decision.”
“We are appealing,” Byrne wrote in a text to The Associated Press. “They may think it was a tactical victory, but they will come to understand it was a strategic mistake.”
Lambert acknowledged earlier this year passing on records from Dominion Voting Systems to “law enforcement.” She then attached an affidavit that included some of the leaked emails and was signed by Dar Leaf — a county sheriff in southwestern Michigan who has investigated false claims of widespread election fraud from the 2020 election — to a filing in her own case in Michigan. The rest of the documents were posted to an account under Leaf’s name on the social platform X.
As a result, Dominion filed a motion demanding Lambert be removed from the Byrne case for violating a protective order that Upadhyaya had placed on documents in the case. It said Lambert’s disclosure had triggered a new round of threats toward the company, which has been at the center of elaborate conspiracy theories about Trump’s loss.
The request was described by Upadhyaya as “extraordinary” but necessary after Lambert has repeatedly shown she “has no regard for orders or her obligations as an attorney.”
In a separate case, Lambert has been charged in Michigan with four felonies for accessing voting machines in a search for evidence of a conspiracy theory against Trump. She was arrested by U.S. Marshals earlier this year after a Michigan judge issued a bench warrant for missing a hearing in her case.
Along with a local clerk in Michigan, Lambert has also been charged with multiple felonies, including unauthorized access to a computer and using a computer to commit a crime, after transmitting data from a local township’s poll book related to the 2020 election.
Lambert has pleaded not guilty in both cases.
Lambert sued unsuccessfully to overturn Trump’s loss in Michigan.
Biden won Michigan by nearly 155,000 votes over then-President Trump, a result confirmed by a GOP-led state Senate investigation in 2021.
Dominion filed several defamation lawsuits against those who spread conspiracy theories blaming its election equipment for Trump’s loss. Fox News settled the most prominent of these cases for $787 million last year.
Dominion’s suit against Byrne is one of several the company has filed against prominent election deniers, including MyPillow founder Mike Lindell and attorney Sidney Powell.
___
Associated Press reporter Nicholas Riccardi in Denver contributed to this report.
veryGood! (9)
Related
- Mega Millions winning numbers for November 8 drawing: Jackpot rises to $361 million
- Scam artists selling bogus magazine subscriptions ripped off $300 million from elderly
- 'Yellowstone' First Look Week: Jamie Dutton doubles down on family duplicity (photos)
- Bikinis, surfboards and battle-axes? Hawaii loosens long-strict weapons laws after court ruling
- Tony Todd, star of 'Candyman,' 'Final Destination,' dies at 69
- Killings of invasive owls to ramp up on US West Coast in a bid to save native birds
- San Diego police identify the officer killed in a collision with a speeding vehicle
- Militia group member sentenced to 5 years in prison for Capitol riot plot
- Lala Kent Swears by This Virgo-Approved Accessory and Shares Why Stassi Schroeder Inspires Her Fall Style
- Channing Tatum Accuses Ex Jenna Dewan of Delay Tactic in Divorce Proceedings
Ranking
- Georgia remains part of College Football Playoff bracket projection despite loss
- Peloton's former billionaire CEO says he 'lost all my money' when he left exercise company
- Woman files suit against White Sox after suffering gunshot wound at 2023 game
- Peloton's former billionaire CEO says he 'lost all my money' when he left exercise company
- Georgia lawmaker proposes new gun safety policies after school shooting
- Having a family is expensive. Here’s what Harris and Trump have said about easing costs
- Polaris Dawn mission: What to know about SpaceX launch and its crew
- The Daily Money: Pricing the American Dream
Recommendation
-
Republican David Schweikert wins reelection in affluent Arizona congressional district
-
New Jersey man drowns while rescuing 2 of his children in Delaware River
-
Paralympic Games opening ceremony starts the final chapter on a long summer of sport in Paris
-
Nvidia is Wall Street’s 2nd-most valuable company. How it keeps beating expectations, by the numbers
-
Jennifer Garner and Boyfriend John Miller Are All Smiles In Rare Public Outing
-
US Open: Iga Swiatek and other tennis players say their mental and physical health are ignored
-
Report says instructor thought gun was empty before firing fatal shot at officer during training
-
What is a returnship and how can it help me reenter the workforce? Ask HR