When Joe Biden won the presidential election in 2020, former president Donald Trump announced that he refused the outcome as he believed the election had been rigged through voter fraud.
After Trump’s announcement, a few of his supporters allegedly stole several voting machines to analyze whether they had been tampered with. Now, those supporters, including Michigan attorney Stefanie Lambert, are being charged for stealing the machines, along with other crimes.
Controversy Surrounding the 2020 Election
When Donald Trump attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 election, the country exploded into chaos. On January 6, 2021, more than 2,000 Trump supporters stormed the nation’s Capitol, vandalizing, looting, and even attempting to kidnap members of congress.
Meanwhile, three attorneys from Michigan allegedly “orchestrated a coordinated plan to gain access to voting tabulators,” to find out if they had, in fact, been tampered with to ensure Joe Biden won the race.
Looking for Stefanie Lambert
One of these lawyers, Stefanie Lambert, was charged by the state of Michigan and arraigned in August 2023 for her part in stealing the voting machines. Even as charges were brought against her, Lambert filled several lawsuits attempting to overturn the 2020 election, though none were were considered by the courts to have sufficient merit for trial.
Lambert’s hearing regarding the theft of the voting machines was set for the first week in March, but the attorney never showed up. Her lawyer argued that Lambert’s “non-appearance was not a willful disregard of the court order and that she was in fact confused,” but the judge issued a warrant for her arrest anyway.
Lambert Has Allegedly Been Committing More Crimes While Avoiding Her Current Charges
While Lambert was at large, it became apparent that the attorney may have committed yet another crime. Authorities believe she also stole and distributed confidential documents from the company that provides the voting machines, Dominion Voting.
Lambert has direct access to the private files as she represented Patrick Byrne, former CEO of Overstock, who is being sued by Dominion Voting for defamation during the 2020 election.
What Did Lambert Do With the Confidential Files?
State officials now claim that Lambert, who had been sent thousands of documents from Dominion as “discovery,” also hacked the company’s internal email system.
Lambert then proceeded to illegally leak the private documents included within the discovery, as well as thousands of the company’s private emails.
The Plot Thickens
As if Lambert’s tale wasn’t complicated enough, it has become clear she didn’t just leak the documents to the public, but specifically sent them to Dar Leaf, the sheriff in Barry County, Michigan.
Leaf is infamous in his own right for his conspiracy theories regarding the 2020 election, and he was almost arrested last August with Lambert for conspiracy to tamper with voting machines.
Sheriff Leaf Has Since Posted 2,000 of Dominion’s Documents on Social Media
While Lambert has yet to be formally charged with releasing Dominion’s private documents, it’s clear that Sheriff Leaf got them somehow because, just a few days ago, he posted several of them on X (formerly Twitter).
Throughout this mayhem, Lambert was still at large, even after the court had issued a warrant for her arrest. Then, she showed up in court, not for her own proceedings, but for her client, CEO Patrick Byrne’s hearing.
The Judge Asked Lambert to Stay Behind After the Hearing
After Byrne’s hearing concluded, the courtroom was dismissed, except for Lambert. The judge asked her to stay behind, and then, when she was the only one left in the room, court marshals locked the doors from the inside.
Later that day, the US Marshals Service released a statement that confirmed “the arrest of Stefanie Lambert earlier this afternoon.”
Lambert Will Likely Be Charged With Releasing Dominion’s Files
For now, Lambert is being held for her charges of voter machine tampering, but it is highly likely that she will also be charged with illegally releasing Dominion’s private documents and emails to Sheriff Leaf.
Lambert apparently admitted during Bryne’s hearing that she did, in fact, give Sheriff Leaf the Dominion documents. However, she claims she had the right to do so as she was reporting a crime. Once hearing this, the judge ruled that Lambert no longer has access to any of Dominion’s discovery for the Patrick Bryne case.
Lambert’s Claims
Lambert, alongside Sheriff Leaf and Byrne, have claimed that they have discovered evidence that proves election meddling. Lambert has publicly stated that Serbian nationals interfered in the 2020 presidential election.
Leaf, Byrne, and Lambert have also made these allegations in court filings. However, no actual evidence of these claims has been found.
Dominion in Serbia
Dominion has responded to these meddling accusations by explaining that their employees in Serbia had nothing to do with election fraud.
“As has been public for years, Dominion has a small staff presence in Serbia, but any allegation that Dominion employees anywhere tried to interfere with any election is flatly false,” a Dominion spokesperson told CNN.
Xenophobia
Dominion also took the time to blast Lambert, Leaf, and Byrne for what they see as “xenophobic” comments, in regard to blaming Serbian workers for supposed election crimes.
Dominion lawyers also noted that Lambert has been in trouble with the law before and was almost sanctioned in the past for her conspiracy theories.
Lambert Asks for Help
During this latest hearing, prior to her arrest, Lambert talked a lot about this alleged stolen election by Serbian nationals.
At one point, she even called on Congress to help prove her claims that “foreign nationals” meddled in the election in 2020.
Trump Supporters on Lambert’s Arrest
Byrne, who Lambert represents, was asked about his attorney’s arrest. In a text to AP News, Byrne explained at the time that he didn’t know if Lambert was actually arrested or not.
However, he claimed she would only go up in his favor if she was arrested, saying, “If she was, I respect her even more, and she can raise her rate to me.”
Pro-Trump Conspiracy Theorists
Trump supporters who also push conspiracy theories will likely cover Lambert’s arrest in different ways. Already, many, such as Byrne, are building up her arrest and supporting her.
This arrest may also result in some pro-Trump advocates calling out the legal justice system, something that Trump has long done himself. According to these supporters, the government is going after Trump and his supporters for no reason.
Dominion Voting Has Already Received Several Death Threats
While Lambert has been detained for her previous charges, the documents she gave Sheriff Leaf are still circulating the internet.
These documents are exceptionally dangerous, as they contain the names, cell phone numbers, office addresses, and email addresses of Dominion Voting employees. And Dominion has reported that their employees are receiving death threats from Trump supporters from around the country.
Finding an Alleged Crime
According to both Lambert and Byrne, her work on Byrne’s case had led to her discovering an alleged crime.
On X, Byrne wrote that Lambert “signed an NDA, but she found evidence of ongoing crime, and reported it to law enforcement. If she found a severed head in a discovery box she had a duty to report it to law-enforcement, too.”
Dominion’s Motion
After Lambert’s latest moves, Dominion is calling for the attorney to be completely off the case. They’ve since filed a motion for her removal, which U.S. District Court Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya will later decide on.
Dominion has claimed that Lambert has violated a protective order that the judge put on all the documents involved in the case.
Disregarding the Court
According to Dominion, Lambert’s actions are completely shocking — and a full disregard for what the Court is.
“These actions should shock the conscience,” Dominion wrote. “They reflect a total disregard for this Court’s orders, to say nothing of the safety of Dominion employees.”
What Will Happen to Stefanie Lambert?
Stefanie Lambert will, of course, have to attend her own hearing for the charges of stealing and tampering with voting machines. But now, she may have a few more charges on her rap sheet.
Whether or not she will be found guilty or if she will be released with a fine, serve time, or be disbarred is yet to be seen. However, all of these results are possible.
Dominion’s Lawsuits
Since the 2020 election, Dominion has filed many lawsuits against organizations and people for spreading lies and misinformation about the presidential election.
Most notably, Dominion’s defamation case against Fox News ended in the news corporation settling for $787 million. This case is now known as the largest defamation settlement in American history that is publicly known.
Dominion’s Other Court Cases
Though Dominion got a settlement from Fox for their election claims, the news organization isn’t the only one that Dominion has sought damages from.
Currently, the company is also suing many public Trump-supporting people, such as former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell. They also have cases against Newsmax and One America News.
2024 Election Threats
Already, many experts are warning that some major threats to the election process could occur in November of 2024. Officials and authorities are working to ensure none of these threats actually happen.
These risks include organizations or people intimidating election workers or officials to change the vote, as well as cyber attacks from foreign adversaries on election infrastructure.
The 2024 Election Is Right Around the Corner
With the 2024 presidential election around the corner, the drama surrounding the 2020 election is more prevalent than ever.
Some law enforcement officials are worried that if President Joe Biden beats Donald Trump yet again in the polls, the country could face more tampering crimes, protests, or even aggressive riots.
