Michigan attorney general says sanctions could be pursued against Trump lawyers

Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani

Sidney Powell, right, speaks next to former Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani, as members of President Donald Trump's legal team, during a news conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters, Thursday Nov. 19, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)AP

Lawyers for President Donald Trump accused of misrepresenting facts in court may face professional sanctions in the future, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said this week.

Nessel is considering pursuing sanctions because she believes a number of pro-Trump lawyers who filed lawsuits seeking to overturn election results have mangled facts surrounding the November election, undermining the electoral process by pushing unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud. The American Bar Association defines misrepresentation as incorporation or affirmation of statements of another person that the lawyer knows is false.

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Misrepresentation in the Trump lawsuits, most of which have been dismissed for lack of jurisdiction or evidence, erodes public trust in democracy, according to Nessel. She didn’t name the lawyers potentially being targeted for sanctions, but suggested those who filed lawsuits after initial allegations were dismissed could be among them.

“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.

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In addition to considering sanctions, Nessel alluded to pursuing court costs and fees, as well as filing complaints against lawyers with the Attorney Grievance Commission.

Nessel made the comments during a Dec. 22 press call. That same day, an attorney for a Wayne County voter, Robert Davis, filed a motion for sanctions against lawyers in the case, King v. Whitmer, which unsuccessfully asked the court to overturn Michigan’s election results that showed a Joe Biden victory. A week prior, the City of Detroit asked a federal judge in Michigan’s Eastern District Court to issue sanctions to the same lawyers, as well as Trump lawyer Sidney Powell.

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Davis’ motion described the lawyers’ conduct as “egregious” and alleged they used the judicial system to support “plaintiffs’ selfish and destructive political agendas.”

On Dec. 15, Detroit filed a motion seeking monetary sanctions, as well as barring the plaintiffs’ attorneys from practicing in the district prior to filing anything else related to the case. The motion stated the allegations of fraud were “rejected by every court which has considered them.”

“If any of the claims in the lawsuit had merit, that would have been demonstrated in those cases,” Detroit argued in the motion. “Few lawsuits breathe more lies than this one.”

Any sanctions to be pursued by the Attorney General’s office or Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson wouldn’t be pursued until the cases are closed, Nessel said.

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