The U.S. Supreme Court opted not to hear an appeal from a cadre of lawyers—including Sidney Powell and Lin Wood—affiliated with former President Donald Trump, who were previously sanctioned for bringing forward groundless allegations of widespread fraud in the 2020 Presidential election.
In the brief order issued on Tuesday, the high court declines to reevaluate the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling that confirmed financial and professional penalties against the attorneys following the contentious election.
Powell, Wood, and their associates, fervent proponents of Trump’s claims, faced repercussions in Michigan after their efforts to invalidate President Biden’s victory. Known for Powell’s bold claim to “release the Kraken,” a metaphor for a potent legal offensive, the team pursued aggressive strategies to sustain Trump’s presidential tenure.
The punitive measures included more than $175,000 in legal fees to be paid by the lawyers, deemed by a lower court necessary to impede similar unfounded legal actions deemed “designed primarily to spread the narrative that our election processes are rigged.” The appellate court, though maintaining the sanctions, slightly reduced the sum to above $150,000 and spurred the initiation of disciplinary reviews by the respective state bar associations.
The silence of the Supreme Court on this matter solidifies the stance taken by the lower courts, placing an emphatic full stop to the litigators’ challenge of the election outcome.