Support truly
independent journalism
A federal judge has issued a blistering order to remove an attorney representing a prominent, election-denying conspiracy theorist accused of defaming a voting machine company with bogus claims about the 2020 election.
In a 62-page order on Tuesday, District Judge Moxila Upadhyaya booted attorney Stefanie Lambert from representing former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne in the case after she publicly leaked the company’s internal emails.
Dominion Voting Systems sued Byrne for defamation after he repeatedly falsely accused the company of rigging the election against Donald Trump.
Lambert’s “truly egregious misconduct” included “flagrantly and repeatedly” ignoring court orders by publicly disclosing “thousands, if not millions” of internal Dominion documents, according to Judge Upadhyaya in Washington DC.
“Lambert’s actions were intentional and clearly meant to inflict the harm that has resulted,” the judge wrote. “This Court cannot allow such intentional, dangerous, and relentless misconduct to continue.”
Byrne intends to appeal the decision.
Dominion has filed several defamation lawsuits in the wake of the 2020 presidential election, when the company was at the center of false attacks and conspiracy theories alleging that its machines had rigged the outcome against Trump.
Last year, the company reached a $787 million settlement with Fox News that averted one of the biggest-ever defamation trials in American history. Dominion is also seeking millions of dollars from Rudy Giuliani, Mike Lindell and Sidney Powell, in addition to Byrne, for similarly bogus statements about the company’s actions during the 2020 election.
Lambert is also facing criminal charges in two separate cases in Michigan over her alleged role in a conspiracy to seize voting machines. She has pleaded not guilty.
She was arrested by US Marshals earlier this year after a hearing on whether she should face sanctions for leaking Dominion emails to a right-wing sheriff in Michigan, who has used his office to investigate baseless, 2020 election claims.
Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf then posted many of those documents online — including some with Dominion staff phone numbers and email addresses.
“Byrne and Lambert’s acts have not only fueled theories of widescale election fraud and crime … they have resulted in real harm and threats to Dominion employees,” Judge Upadhyaya wrote.
Lambert’s actions raise “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,” according to the judge.
He noted that his order to remove an attorney from the case was “rare” but “warranted.”
Lambert was arrested by US Marshals shortly after officials issued a bench warrant when she failed to appear at a hearing on charges that she had illegally breached voting machines. She later turned herself over to authorities in Michigan and a trial is tentatively scheduled for October.
In May, she was hit with additional felony charges by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel for alleged efforts to seize voting machines.
Lambert, who was involved in Powell’s spurious legal battle to overturn election results to keep Trump in office in 2020, is also an unindicted co-conspirator in a sweeping criminal case in Georgia.
