L. Lin Wood, pro-Trump lawyer, risks being disciplined for sharing court hearing video on Telegram

L. Lin Wood, a lawyer hoping to overturn former President Trump’s election loss, has been ordered by a federal judge to explain why he should go unpunished after sharing video from a recent court hearing.

U.S. District Judge Linda V. Parker, an Obama appointee, gave the order Thursday after Mr. Wood shared the video on social media despite her court prohibiting the recording or broadcasting of proceedings.

The show-cause order gives Mr. Wood until July 22, a full week, to explain “why he should not be disciplined” for violating court rules. Mr. Wood did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Mr. Wood, 68, had already been in legal trouble when he shared the short video clip Monday on the social media service Telegram, briefly making it available to his online followers before deleting it.

The video, nearly 2.5 minutes in length, featured pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell speaking during a virtual court hearing that was held earlier Monday to determine if either should be sanctioned.

Mr. Wood and Ms. Powell, 66, filed suit last year in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, among other places, alleging various forms of purported fraud involving the 2020 election.

Lawyers for the city of Detroit, where the court is based, subsequently accused Mr. Wood and Ms. Powell of seeking a “court-ordered coup d’état” and requested they be sanctioned for pursuing the suit.

In addition to ruling on the initial sanctions hearing, the judge will also have to decide now whether Mr. Wood should face consequences for having shared part of those proceedings on social media.

No response to the show-cause order issued in the case had been publicly filed as of Friday afternoon, and it was not clear when the judge will rule on the sanctions hearing or the more recent matter.

President Biden soundly beat Mr. Trump in Michigan and elsewhere to win the 2020 election. Twitter banned Mr. Wood shortly after when he posted on the platform about killing then-Vice President Mike Pence.

Mr. Wood’s profile on Telegram currently boasts more than 830,000 “subscribers.” More than 1.18 million Twitter accounts followed him on that platform until it banned him from its services in January.