LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson released statements on Thursday in response to the State of Michigan being awarded around $22,000 by the U.S. District Court after a failed election lawsuit known as the “Kraken” by election fraud conspiracy theorists.
“The awarding of fees further holds accountable the attorneys who worked to distort our democracy in favor of lining their own pockets,” Nessel said. “These attorneys demonstrated a flagrant disregard for the law and attempted to use the courts to further a false and destructive narrative. While there is likely no amount of money that can undo the damage they caused, I am happy to see these sanctions handed down.”
“There are consequences to filing meritless lawsuits to grab media attention and mislead Americans,” Benson said. “The sanctions awarded in this case are a testament to that, even if the dollar amounts pale in comparison to the damage that’s already been done to our nation’s democracy.”
The opening paragraph of Judge Linda Parker’s opinion reads, “This lawsuit represents a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process. It is one thing to take on the charge of vindicating rights associated with an allegedly fraudulent election. It is another to take on the charge of deceiving a federal court and the American people into believing that rights were infringed, without regard to whether any laws or rights were in fact violated. This is what happened here.”
