Left: Patrick Byrne, the former chief executive of Overstock.com and an ally of former President Donald Trump, arrives at the O’Neill House Office Building on Capitol Hill to be questioned by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attacks, in Washington, Friday, July 15, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite). Right: Stefanie Lambert (ConservativeDaily podcast/screengrab).
A U.S. magistrate judge in Washington, D.C., has warned a “Kraken” lawyer fighting felony charges in two cases that there will be a hearing on Thursday on Dominion Voting Systems’ bid to disqualify her from representing ex-Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne in a defamation lawsuit — whether she shows up or not.
When Stefanie Lambert told U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya that the hearing, initially scheduled for Monday, had to be moved in light of the fact she must appear in Michigan criminal court the same day, she asserted that she wouldn’t be able to travel to D.C. at all this coming week.
Last Wednesday, the Michigan Attorney General’s Office revealed that Lambert and one of her clients, ousted Adams Township Clerk Stephanie Scott of Hillsdale County, were hit with state felony computer crime charges for allowing an “unauthorized computer examiner access to voter data, including non-public voter information, concerning the 2020 General Election.”
“The Department contends that Scott intentionally disregarded numerous instructions from the Director of Elections, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, to present the Adams Township voting tabulator to an authorized vendor for maintenance and testing and withheld the tabulator until it was seized by Michigan State Police pursuant to a search warrant,” the AG’s office said. “The Department also alleges Lambert illicitly transmitted data from the Adams Township Electronic Poll Book concerning the 2020 General Election under the direction of Scott.”
Michigan AG Dana Nessel (D) said the defendants abused their positions to “promote baseless conspiracies” about the 2020 election and violated the law.
“When elected officials and their proxies use their positions to promote baseless conspiracies, show blatant disregard for voter privacy, and break the law in the process, it undermines the very essence of the democratic process. Those who engage in such reckless conduct must be held accountable for their actions,” Nessel said.
The latest charges added to Lambert’s existing legal peril in Oakland County for an alleged conspiracy to gain unauthorized access to and willfully damage voting machines. Those charges previously led to quite the spectacle when Lambert appeared in D.C. for the first time on Byrne’s behalf in March.
Lambert appeared days after access to the “entire repository” of Dominion discovery documents was handed to an election-denying sheriff and posted on the internet, leading Dominion to allege that she and her client “willfully” violated a protective order to continue her “Kraken” lawyering. After the hearing, Lambert was arrested by U.S. Marshals, spent the night in jail, and was thereafter allowed to drive back home. Lambert had failed to appear for a March 7 court date in her first criminal case, prompting a state judge to issue a bench warrant.
Dominion has been trying to have Lambert swiftly removed from the case ever since, but those efforts have been frustrated since mid-March.
Lambert, in her defense, declared that she is the “most competent” attorney “in the country” and the “most qualified and knowledgeable about election fraud/election law.” But as recently as Friday, Lambert began an email chain claiming that her election-related legal issues necessitated postponing the disqualification-focused hearing beyond the coming week.
On Friday, Lambert sent an email to Dominion lawyers telling them, “As you know, the MI AG has fashioned bogus charges requiring my appearance in court on Monday.”
In response, Dominion attorney Davida Brook, responded that “we are not aware of any bogus charges,” perhaps a lawyerly way of saying the plaintiff was aware of charges, just not “bogus” ones.
“That issue aside, for purposes of Monday, please immediately provide whatever documentation exists showing you are required to appear in court in Michigan on Monday,” Brook said, urging Lambert to come up with another day for a hearing this week. “Also – please advise whether you would be available to appear for this hearing on any other date this week (May 14, 15, 16, and 17).”
Lambert countered that it wasn’t just a Monday court appearance that complicated her schedule.
“I am no longer available this week. I have a hearing scheduled on a client matter on the 15th. I will not be able to travel to DC due to these conflicts on Monday and Wednesday,” she said. “I do not have documentation related to the Monday hearing but it is scheduled for 2:30 pm.”
“For reasons already stated, we do not think it is appropriate to defer this hearing beyond this coming week,” Brook shot back. “Our other existing obligations aside, we will make ourselves available any day this week for the hearing, we ask you do the same.”
In a response, Lambert proposed May 16, Thursday, and May 23, the Thursday following, as new hearing dates. She declined to get into specifics about what where she will be this week, citing “constant threats.”
“Dominion further asked undersigned to provide reasons why she is not available on other dates, but the Court simply asked for the dates that the parties could agree on, which are provided in the previous paragraph,” she said. “Due to constant threats and for reasons of security to herself and her family, undersigned sees no reason to disclose reasons, where she will be, and other available dates beyond that required by the Court’s order.”
Byrne, she said, will be out of the country and can appear on Zoom.
While the magistrate judge did agree to move the hearing to Thursday at 10 a.m., she said Byrne has to be there “in person” and warned Lambert: “The Court will not postpone this hearing again.”
Dan Hartman, an attorney for Lambert, reportedly said last week that his client was facing charges just for trying to “bring powerful entities to account for the violations of election law.”
“I have spoken to Stefanie who remains steadfast in her efforts to bring transparency to the people’s election data, processes and procedures,” Hartman said, Bridge Michigan reported.
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