Judge orders pro-Trump attorneys who brought frivolous election fraud case to pay defendants they sued
CTV
Two lawyers who went to court to claim voter fraud after the 2020 election must pay nearly US$180,000 to the defendants they sued, a federal magistrate judge ordered Monday, saying their lawsuit aimed to "manipulate gullible members of the public and foment public unrest."
The order from Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter of the U.S. District Court in Colorado adds to the federal judiciary's condemnations of attempts by attorneys supporting then-U.S. President Donald Trump to use the courts to vet right-wing conspiracies in the days after the presidential election.
Attorneys Gary D. Fielder and Ernest John Walker will have to pay attorneys fees of $50,000 to Facebook (now Meta), about $63,000 to Dominion Voting Systems, about $63,000 to the non-profit Center for Tech and Civic Life, more than $6,000 to the state of Pennsylvania and nearly $5,000 to the state of Michigan.
"They need to take responsibility for their misconduct," Neureiter wrote in his order, adding that the lawsuit defamed the defendants.
He continued: "I believe that rather than a legitimate use of the legal system to seek redress for redressable grievances, this lawsuit has been used to manipulate gullible members of the public and foment public unrest. To that extent, this lawsuit has been an abuse of the legal system and an interference with the machinery of government. For all these reasons, I feel that a significant sanctions award is merited."
