U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Wisconsin ‘Kraken’ Suit
Election suit was by Trump Attorney, Sidney Powell, who vowed to 'release the Kraken.'
The U.S. Supreme Court has denied yet another attempt to overturn the results of the November 2020 presidential election in Wisconsin.
The country’s highest court today simply denied a writ of mandamus that would have required a lower federal court to take action on the case. That effectively killed the case.
In December, a federal judge for the U.S. Eastern District of Wisconsin dismissed the lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Pamela Pepper dismissed the case on the grounds that the court lacked standing under the constitution to overrule the state election. She said the legal question posed by the suit was simple. “Federal courts have limited jurisdiction. Does a federal court have the jurisdiction and authority to grant the relief this lawsuit seeks? The answer is no.”
The case was part of a slew of lawsuits brought, in part, by Texas attorney Sidney Powell. These lawsuits were part of a nationwide campaign brought after the election by former President Donald Trump’s campaign and its allies to use the courts to overturn the electoral outcome. Powell famously went on Fox Business and said she would “release the Kraken,” referring to the deluge of suits she was about to file.
The lawsuit made wild allegations of voter fraud, claiming “the unlawful counting, or fabrication, of hundreds of thousands of illegal, ineligible, duplicate or purely fictitious ballots in the State of Wisconsin” occurred in a number of municipalities and counties and “at the direction of Wisconsin state election officials.”
Dominion machines were not used in the City of Milwaukee, Milwaukee County or Dane County, Democratic strongholds targeted by the Trump Campaign for a recount, and singled out in the suit, which also named La Crosse County, Waukesha County, St. Croix County, Washington County, Bayfield County and Ozaukee County, most of which were won by Trump.
The allegations concerning Dominion have led the company to file defamation lawsuits against Powell and others seeking billions in damages. Powell alone is being sued for $1.3 billion.
The suits filed by Powell in Wisconsin were also riddled with simple mistakes. For example, in Wisconsin, the suit demanded the court provide video surveillance footage from the TCF Center, which is in Detroit Michigan.
Van Orden later told WisPolitics reporter JR Ross that he was named as a plaintiff in the suit without his permission and that he only learned the suit was being filed in his name through social media.
Powell was joined in filing the suit by New York attorney Howard Kleinhendler, and local attorneys Michael D. Dean of Brookfield and Daniel J. Eastman of Mequon.
This is the latest in a long string of defeats for lawsuits brought by the former president and his allies that sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election. See Urban Milwaukee’s coverage of the post election legal battles here.
More about the 2020 General Election
- Democrats File Suit Against State Republicans Who Posed As Electors - Shawn Johnson - May 17th, 2022
- Gableman Review Paused, But His Pay Continues - Henry Redman - May 12th, 2022
- Second Judge Rules Gableman Probe Can’t Delete Records - Shawn Johnson - May 4th, 2022
- Gableman Rallies With Extremists, Including Vos’s Primary Opponent - Henry Redman - May 3rd, 2022
- Special Report: Who Is Conducting Gableman’s Investigation? - Matt Mencarini - Apr 26th, 2022
- Statement: Office of Special Counsel - Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos - Apr 26th, 2022
- Vos’ Emails Show Pressure From Election Deniers - Henry Redman - Apr 12th, 2022
- Elections Commission Issues Fines for ‘Frivolous Complaints’ - Christine Hatfield - Apr 7th, 2022
- Data Wonk: Another Bizarre Gableman Proposal - Bruce Thompson - Apr 6th, 2022
- Vos Held In Contempt of Court - Rich Kremer - Mar 31st, 2022
Read more about 2020 General Election here
More about the Trump's Election Lawsuits
- Op Ed: Hold Wisconsin’s Fraudulent Electors Accountable - Jeffrey Mandell - Jan 6th, 2022
- Data Wonk: How Fox Spread Lies About State’s Election - Bruce Thompson - Mar 31st, 2021
- ‘Kraken’ Lawsuits Not Based on Facts - Graham Kilmer - Mar 23rd, 2021
- Supreme Court Brushes Off Trump Election Challenge - Graham Kilmer - Mar 8th, 2021
- U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Wisconsin ‘Kraken’ Suit - Graham Kilmer - Mar 1st, 2021
- Data Wonk: High Court Minority Embarrasses Itself - Bruce Thompson - Feb 24th, 2021
- Supreme Court Denies Trump’s Wisconsin Election Lawsuit - Graham Kilmer - Feb 22nd, 2021
- Data Wonk: With Donald Trump It’s Never Over - Bruce Thompson - Feb 17th, 2021
- Federal Judge Tears Apart Election Lawsuit - Graham Kilmer - Jan 4th, 2021
- Op Ed: Hagedorn Wisconsin’s Person of The Year - John Torinus - Dec 30th, 2020
Read more about Trump's Election Lawsuits here
Trump has filed many lawsuits since losing the election of 2020. Is he paying his attorneys for these suits or are tax payers being charged for some of these costs?