A judge has removed an attorney from a defamation case brought by Dominion Voting Systems.
The attorney Stefanie Lambert, represented former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne in the case, in which Dominion alleged that Byrne made false statements about the company's role in the 2020 election.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya disqualified Lambert from representing Byrne in an order Tuesday after determining that she publicly leaked internal records from Dominion in violation of a court order.
Upadhyaya noted that disqualification from the case “is extraordinary and rarely granted outside of cases involving conflicts of interest.” However, the judge said that Lambert's “truly egregious misconduct” has warranted a disqualification in the case.
“Nevertheless, the record clearly shows that Lambert deliberately violated multiple court rules and orders and continues to do so despite having had ample warning of the consequences and assuring the Court she would comply,” the order memorandum states.
“Lambert's repeated misconduct raises 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,” the order continues.
The order noted that Byrne also violated the protective order, but that the “full scope of Byrne's actions is not yet known.” Upadhyaya said in the order that their actions have “fueled theories of widescale election fraud and crime.”
The order said that Lambert shared Dominion's discovery materials in two ways.
“This Court cannot allow such intentional, dangerous, and relentless misconduct to continue. Lambert is immediately disqualified from serving as counsel in this case,” the order concluded.
Read the full order:
She included the documents in a public filing in her Michigan criminal case, where she was charged on four felony counts related to the 2020 election, according to the order. She also shared some public documents with a sheriff in Michigan, who went on to share and discuss the documents, the order said.
The order noted that before her hearing on the issue, she acknowledged on social media platform X that she “gave the evidence to law enforcement,” adding that it “contained evidence of numerous crimes.”
A Dominion spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill that they appreciated the order.
“We appreciate the court's careful decision to disqualify Patrick Byrne's counsel. Our case against Byrne is moving forward and we will hold him accountable for continuing to spread lies about Dominion and our employees,” the spokesperson said.
Lambert told The Hill in a text message “we are filing an appeal.”
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