US appeals court weighs sanctions for Sidney Powell over election lawsuit

May 31 (Reuters) – Lawyers for Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers on Wednesday told a U.S. appeals court in Chicago that conservative lawyer Sidney Powell should have been sanctioned for her failed lawsuit alleging fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

Evers is looking to recoup $106,000 in attorney fees from Powell and a team of other lawyers who alleged massive election fraud in battleground states that Democrat Joe Biden won, including Wisconsin.

“This case was sanctionable from the get-go,” Jeffrey Mandell, a partner at Stafford Rosenbaum representing Evers, said during oral arguments before the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. “This case never should have been brought.”

U.S. District Judge Pamela Pepper denied Evers’ motion for sanctions in August, ruling that she no longer had jurisdiction over the case. She also held that sanctions would not be appropriate because she had quickly dismissed Powell’s lawsuit before delving into the merits of her claims.

If successful, Evers’ appeal would require Pepper to take up his request for sanctions. However, appellate judge David Hamilton said during Wednesday’s arguments that he worried reviving Evers’ sanction motion could be a “post-victory ambush.”

Powell’s lawsuit to overturn the results of the Wisconsin election alleged a vast, tangled fraud linking voting machines to Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez and hackers from China and Iran. Pepper dismissed the case within days on procedural grounds.

Powell complained during the hearing that she was “blindsided” by Evers’ motion for attorney fees. She said she has been subjected to multiple sanctions motions and disciplinary complaints in multiple states, including her home state of Texas.

“We have been besieged by lawfare,” Powell said.

Powell in her appellate brief continued to defend her claims of election fraud, saying Evers cannot call her claims frivolous without an evidentiary hearing.

Powell was sanctioned $175,000 by a Michigan federal judge for filing a similar lawsuit alleging meritless election fraud claims. She has appealed the sanction to the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which heard oral arguments in December.

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