‘The people have spoken’: Michigan judge rejects lawsuit from disavowed Trump attorney

A Michigan federal judge has ruled against a sweeping legal bid to overturn election results in the state, determining the lawsuit brought by an ally of President Donald Trump was riddled with “theories, conjecture and speculation” but little evidence of wrongdoing.  

U.S. District Judge Linda V. Parker ruled against a request from Sidney Powell — an attorney disavowed by the Trump campaign who still champions its causes — to force the state to award its electoral votes to Trump despite President-elect Joe Biden winning the state. 

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“In fact, this lawsuit seems to be less about achieving the relief Plaintiffs seek — as much of that relief is beyond the power of this Court — and more about the impact of their allegations on People’s faith in the democratic process and their trust in our government,” reads a portion of the 36-page opinion. 

“Plaintiffs ask this Court to ignore the orderly statutory scheme established to challenge elections and to ignore the will of millions of voters. This the Court cannot, and will not, do. The people have spoken.”

This is the latest in a series of legal flops from the Trump campaign or supporters. Judges throughout Michigan and the U.S have rejected their claims, noting there is no evidence of widespread fraud. 

While a Michigan attorney working with Powell said the team may appeal the ruling, a attorney representing Detroit called the order a win for voters and democracy. 

“It’s a good day for democracy; not such a good day for frivolous Republican lawsuits,” said David Fink, an attorney representing the city, said in a . 

“Once again a challenge to our vote count based upon groundless conspiracy theories has been rejected in court. Every judge who has reviewed these claims brought by Donald Trump and his allies has found them for what they are—frivolous lawsuits intended to undermine faith in our democracy. It’s time for the purveyors of these dangerous lies to be sanctioned by the courts.” 

In this specific case, Powell and her team relied on a series of allegations that in large part focused on Detroit. Some of those allegations mirror ones made during a recent legislative hearing, where Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani questioned his own witnesses as lawmakers watched. 

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Among the series of debunked or discredited theories in the lawsuit is one that ballot tabulating software crafted by confederates of deceased Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez helped further a massive international conspiracy against Trump, carried out in Michigan and other swing states in order to secure Biden’s victory.

The lawsuit’s allegations did not warrant intervention by the court, Parker ruled. 

“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,” the ruling states. 

Gregory Rohl, a Michigan attorney working with Powell, said he needed to meet with his team before they would rule out an appeal. 

“Again I believe that our projected path to resolution of this issue for Michigan and national voters always contemplated ultimate review by (the U.S. Supreme Court),” Rohl said in an email Monday morning. 

“Since so many successful inroads have been made through the various filings on this voter fraud issue across the country, I need to meet with my team and decide whether our case needs to move forward on appeal. I’m prepared to do so and believe all voters deserve our continued commitment to the integrity of our Democratic Process.”

The Trump campaign and its affiliates have lost or withdrawn essentially every lawsuit filed across the country related to allege election fraud. In Michigan, the Trump campaign filed a lawsuit with more than 100 affidavits alleging misconduct, but withdrew the suit before a judge could rule. As of last week, the office of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said no one from the campaign had provided any evidence of illegal conduct.

“In theory there is enough time to decide this by (Dec.) 14th when the electors meet. Practically speaking this case is not going anywhere,” said Rick Hasen, an election law expert and professor at the University of California-Irvine. 

“As with other Powell cases, the courts are finding numerous deficiencies and no merit to these cases, and appealing has not helped.”

Although Giuliani has claimed a win from a court order in Antrim County related to voting machines, the order is actually in response to a voter challenge to a local marijuana proposal. 

On Dec. 14, the 16 Michigan delegates to the Electoral College will meet and cast their votes for Biden. He assumes the presidency in January. 

Contact Dave Boucher at dboucher@freepress.com or 313-938-4591. Follow him on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1.

*** This article has been archived for your research. The original version from Detroit Free Press can be found here ***