A lawyer who filed a lawsuit contesting the outcome of the 2020 presidential election could be facing the consequences after a federal judge referred him for possible disciplinary action.
U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg referred Erick Kaardal, a Minnesota-based lawyer, for discipline on Friday, arguing that the suit he filed, which the judge denied in January, was “staggering,” according to the court order.
The lawsuit, Wisconsin Voters Alliance v. Pence, sought to invalidate the results in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Arizona, all of which President Biden won. The lawsuit had targeted former Vice President Mike Pence, Congress, and the Electoral College itself, in addition to the battleground states. In rejecting the suit, Boasberg said the lawsuit would be “risible” if it didn’t seek to undermine “a democratic election for President of the United States,” and he threatened to refer counsel for disciplinary action at the time.
“The relief requested in this lawsuit is staggering: to invalidate the election and prevent the electoral votes from being counted. When any counsel seeks to target processes at the heart of our democracy, the Committee may well conclude that they are required to act with far more diligence and good faith than existed here,” wrote Boasberg, according to the order obtained by Law & Crime.
The judge said he referred Kaardal, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner, because he hadn’t sufficiently defended bringing the suit.
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“As he has not sufficiently allayed the Court’s concerns regarding potential bad faith, it will refer the matter to the Committee via separate letter so that it may determine whether discipline is appropriate,” Boasberg said.
After Kaardal withdrew the suit on Jan. 7, one day after a stampede of protesters engaged in a deadly clash with law enforcement inside and around the Capitol as Congress sought to certify Biden’s electoral victory, the judge ordered him to provide an explanation as to why the judge shouldn’t refer him for disciplinary action.
Attorney Channing Shor, acting on Kaardal’s behalf, said in a 13-page memo filed earlier in February, “Clear and convincing evidence does not exist that Erick Kaardal, esq., engaged in conduct that would warrant discipline.”
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This lawsuit was one of dozens filed from the Trump campaign, the GOP, and affiliated groups as they sought through various legal avenues to overturn the results of the election so that former President Donald Trump could serve a second term. They were widely unsuccessful in their efforts via the court system.
