Pro-Trump Michigan lawyer arrested after hearing in voting machine case

An attorney facing criminal charges for illegally accessing Michigan voting machines after the 2020 election was arrested Monday in a separate case in federal court in Washington, D.C.

Stefanie Lambert was arrested by U.S. Marshals following a hearing on possible sanctions for distributing confidential emails from Dominion Voting Systems, a company owned by former President Donald Trump 2020 The target of conspiracy theories about the 2016 election defeat. Lambert obtained Dominion’s emails by representing Patrick Byrne, a prominent funder of election conspiracy theorists who is being sued by Dominion for defamation.

Lambert was arrested on “local charges,” the Marshals Office said in a statement. Earlier this month, a Michigan judge issued a bench arrest warrant for Lambert after she missed a hearing in the case in which she was charged with four counts of entering voting machines to search for evidence of conspiracy theories against Trump. Felony. Lambert had earlier unsuccessfully sued to overturn Trump’s loss in Michigan.

Earlier Monday, Lambert admitted to turning over Dominion Voting System records to “law enforcement.” She later attached an affidavit to her case filed in Michigan that included some of the leaked emails and was signed by Dar Leaf, the southwest Michigan county sheriff in charge. Investigate false claims of widespread electoral fraud in the 2020 election. The remaining files were posted to an account in Leaf’s name on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter.

Leaf did not respond to a request for comment. Lambert’s attorney, Daniel Hartman, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Byrne wrote in the text message that he didn’t know if Lambert was arrested, “but if she was, I would respect her more and she could raise my tax rate from me.”

Lambert argued that the Dominion documents obtained during the discovery process were “criminal” evidence and needed to be disclosed.

Byrne wrote on , she is also obligated to report it to law enforcement.”

Dominion filed a motion on Friday to remove Lambert from the Byrne case because he violated a protective order against documents in the case by U.S. District Court Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya. Lampert’s revelations are said to have sparked a new round of threats against the company, which has been at the center of elaborate conspiracy theories about Trump’s election defeat.

“These actions should shock the conscience,” Dominion wrote in its motion seeking to disqualify Lambert. “They have a complete disregard for court orders, not to mention the safety of Dominion employees.”

Upadhyaya said during Monday’s hearing that she has scheduled a follow-up hearing to determine whether it would be appropriate to impose sanctions on Lambert or remove her from the case.

Dominion has filed several defamation lawsuits against those who spread conspiracy theories blaming its election equipment for Trump’s 2020 defeat. Fox News settled the most prominent case last year for $787 million.

Dominion’s lawsuit against Byrne is one of several the company has filed against prominent election deniers, including MyPillow founder Mike Lindell and attorney Sidney Powell.