DETROIT (Legal Newsline) – Not only should the lawsuit contesting Michigan’s Presidential vote results be thrown out of court, the Trump-backers who brought it should be penalized.
That’s the argument of the City of Detroit, which on Dec. 22 filed a motion to dismiss the case and to impose sanctions on former federal prosecutor Sidney Powell, who rounded up plaintiffs to allege voting machines changed the outcome of the 2020 election in favor of Joe Biden.
Powell is currently appealing the decision of federal judge Linda Parker to deny an injunction against the results of the vote. In the meantime, defendants and other intervening groups are moving to dismiss her lawsuit entirely.
Detroit took it a step further, arguing Powell has caused the defendants to incur expenses and attorneys fees by pursuing an unreasonable lawsuit.
“If sanctions are not deserved in this case, it is hard to imagine a case where they would be,” attorneys for the city wrote.
“Sidney Powell has stated that the courts have rejected her lawsuits ‘because the corruption goes deep and wide.’ But, in truth, she filed lawsuits devoid of any factual or legal merit, hoping not to prevail but to damage democracy.”
Because of the nature of the litigation, attorneys involved should be held to the highest standards, the motion says. Powell and her co-counsel owe Detroit its litigation costs, the city argues.
“(T)hey have raised false allegations and pursued unsupportable legal theories,” the motion says. “Apparently, this frivolous lawsuit continues because it serves other, more nefarious, purposes. While the pending complaint cannot possibly result in meaningful relief, it does serve the purpose of conveying to the world the impression that something fraudulent occurred in Detroit’s vote count.
This is not a legitimate lawsuit; it is a public relations and fundraising weapon being used to advance the false narrative that our democratic system is broken. Plaintiffs are trying to send the message that our democracy cannot be trusted. It is time for this Court to send a message back: lies and frivolous claims will not be tolerated.”
Judge Parker declared “The People have spoken,” when she refused to grant an injunction against the results of the Michigan vote.
Donald Trump-backers claimed Wayne County was a hotbed of fraud. Their lawsuit says the companies that provided election software and hardware were founded by foreign dictators intent on manipulating elections that would keep Hugo Chavez in power in Venezuela.
“If granted, the relief would disenfranchise the votes of the more than 5.5 million Michigan citizens who, with dignity, hope and a promise of a voice, participated in the 2020 general election,” Parker wrote.
Parker says the plaintiffs failed to back their claims that votes for Trump were destroyed, discarded or otherwise tampered with.
“The closest Plaintiffs get to alleging that election machines and software changed votes for President Trump to Vice President Biden in Wayne County is an amalgamation of theories, conjecture and speculation that such alterations were possible,” Parker wrote.
“And Plaintiffs do not at all explain how the question of whether the treatment of election challengers complied with state law bears on the validity of votes, or otherwise establishes an equal protection claim.”