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  • Pro-Trump lawyer Lin Wood named as cooperating witness in Georgia election conspiracy case

    Pro-Trump lawyer Lin Wood named as cooperating witness in Georgia election conspiracy case

    L. Lin Wood, a disgraced pro-Trump lawyer who spread lies about the 2020 election, has flipped and will appear as a witness for the prosecution in the Georgia racketeering case against former President Donald Trump.

    Wood is named as a cooperating witness in unrelated filing by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

    The court papers do not reveal any details about Wood’s involvement in the case or what he might testify about.

    Jose Luis Magana/AP

    Former President Donald Trump

    Some legal pundits believed Wood had flipped on Trump when he was not charged in the Georgia case and did not appear to be an unindicted co-conspirator.

    The special grand jury that heard evidence in the case recommended Wood be charged alongside Trump and the others but he was not indicted, a move that hinted he could be cooperating.

    Wood was once a celebrated Georgia lawyer who helped exonerate accused Atlanta Olympics bomber Richard Jewell and the parents of slain child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey.

    But he dove deep into the weeds of Trump’s 2020 election lies.

    Wood filed an ill-fated federal lawsuit claiming the presidential election was rigged in Georgia and also joined several pro-Trump suits in other states that were all tossed out by judges for lack of evidence among other issues.

    He briefly mounted a bid to lead South Carolina’s Republican Party but dropped out of the race.

    The Georgia state bar association opened an investigation into Wood over his actions, which were considered potentially improper. He tried to block the probe, which included efforts to obtain a mental health exam over his erratic behavior.

    Wood eventually retired from legal practice in exchange for the disciplinary charges being dropped.

    He proclaimed himself “the second most-persecuted person in America,” adding that Trump tops the list.

    Wood has offered no public hint that he had turned on Trump.

    The reference to Wood came in court papers filed by Willis that asked Judge Scott McAfee to determine whether lawyers for several of Trump’s co-defendants face potential conflicts of interest.

    Willis notes that some of the defense lawyers have ties or have previously represented potential witnesses in the case, including Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

    The judge could order hearings into the claims or could order the lawyers removed from the case.

    Dave Goldiner

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  • Pro-Trump lawyer Lin Wood gives up law license amid 2020-related disciplinary case | CNN Politics

    Pro-Trump lawyer Lin Wood gives up law license amid 2020-related disciplinary case | CNN Politics



    CNN
     — 

    Lin Wood, a prominent right-wing attorney and election denier, has given up his law license in an apparent move to stave off disciplinary proceedings tied to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

    Wood is formally retiring from practicing law, and the disciplinary cases against him in Georgia are being dismissed, according to court filings and a letter Wood sent to the state bar this week. His retirement is “unqualified, irrevocable, and permanent,” the court filings state.

    “I have retired from the active practice of law as I have been planning to do since late 2019,” Wood told CNN.

    The situation stems from Wood’s conduct after the 2020 election. He filed a series of meritless lawsuits after then-President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, which were filled with debunked theories about massive voter fraud that went nowhere in the courts. He was never formally part of the Trump campaign’s legal team, though he promoted the same election lies that Trump embraced.

    “By permitting (Wood) to transfer to Retired Status and thereby prohibiting (Wood) from practicing law in this state or any other state or jurisdiction, the Office of General Counsel believes that it has achieved the goals of disciplinary action, including protecting the public and the integrity of the judicial system and the legal profession,” Robert Remar, an attorney representing the State Bar of Georgia, wrote in a court filing.

    In a Telegram post on Wednesday, Wood said, “Anyone who suggests that my voluntary retirement from the GA B.A.R. was out of fear of disbarment, does not know me or has not followed me very long.”

    The disciplinary proceedings against Wood are one of several against lawyers who helped Trump in his ill-fated quest to stay in power. His personal attorney at the time, Rudy Giuliani, saw his law license suspended in 2021. And another pro-Trump attorney, John Eastman, is currently in the middle of a disciplinary trial for attempting to subvert Congress’ election certification on January 6, 2021.

    These and other lawyers in Trump’s orbit are also being scrutinized in special counsel Jack Smith’s criminal investigation into the Trump team’s wide-ranging attempts to overturn the 2020 election results and potentially interfere with the lawful transfer of power.

    Long before the 2020 election, Wood became famous for successfully handling high-profile defamation lawsuits, most notably the case of Richard Jewell, the Atlanta security guard who was falsely accused of being the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bomber. But his activities amid the 2020 presidential election became increasingly unhinged, including calling for the execution of senior US officials and promoting QAnon conspiracies.

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