After a hearing in a separate case in federal court in Washington, D.C., an attorney who is currently facing criminal charges for illegally accessing Michigan voting machines after the 2020 election was arrested on Monday.
Stefanie Lambert, who had been representing Patrick Byrne, a prominent funder of election conspiracy theorists being sued by Dominion for defamation, was apprehended by U.S. Marshals following a hearing regarding potential sanctions against her. These sanctions were being considered due to her involvement in sharing confidential emails from Dominion Voting Systems, which has been the subject of various conspiracy theories surrounding former President Donald Trump’s 2020 election defeat.
The Marshals office released a statement confirming that Lambert was apprehended on “local charges.” Following her failure to appear at a hearing in her case, a Michigan judge had issued a bench warrant for Lambert, who faces four felony charges for accessing voting machines in an attempt to gather evidence supporting a conspiracy theory against Trump. It is worth noting that Lambert had previously filed an unsuccessful lawsuit to challenge Trump’s defeat in Michigan.
On Monday, Lambert admitted that she had shared the Dominion Voting Systems records with law enforcement. She included leaked emails in an affidavit signed by Dar Leaf, a county sheriff from northern Michigan who has looked into unfounded allegations of widespread election fraud in the 2020 election. These documents were then posted on an account under Leaf’s name on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Leaf did not provide any comments in response to the requests made. Additionally, Daniel Hartman, the attorney representing Lambert, did not respond to the requests for comment immediately.
In a text message, Byrne expressed uncertainty about whether Lambert had been arrested, but he added that if she had been, he respected her even more and would be willing to pay her a higher rate.
Lambert argued that the Dominion documents obtained during the discovery process provided evidence of “crimes” and should be made public.
Dominion filed a motion on Friday, insisting that Lambert should be disqualified from the Byrne case. This is due to his violation of a protective order that was put in place by U.S. District Court Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya. The order was designed to safeguard the documents involved in the case. Dominion argued that Lambert’s disclosure has resulted in a fresh wave of threats against the company. These threats have been fueled by the intricate conspiracy theories surrounding Trump’s loss.
Dominion expressed its deep concern over Lambert’s actions, stating that they should be viewed as deeply troubling. They emphasized that these actions not only demonstrated a complete disregard for the court’s orders but also posed a significant threat to the safety of Dominion employees.
During a hearing on Monday, Upadhyaya stated that she had scheduled another one to assess whether sanctions against Lambert or her removal from the case were warranted.
Dominion took legal action against individuals who propagated conspiracy theories falsely accusing its election equipment of causing Trump’s defeat in 2020. Fox News, in particular, reached a settlement amounting to $787 million to resolve the prominent defamation lawsuit.
Dominion has filed a lawsuit against Byrne, joining a series of legal actions taken by the company against high-profile individuals who have denied the legitimacy of the election. Among those facing legal action are MyPillow founder Mike Lindell and attorney Sidney Powell.
