Trump ally Mike Flynn hit with sanctions bid by ex-Republican he's suing for defamation

Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, an associate of Donald Trump who played a prominent role in efforts to overturn the 2020 election, has been hit with a sanctions bid in a defamation lawsuit against a former Republican activist.

Flynn, who held a MAGA doomsday prophecy event last year, reportedly sued former Lincoln Project veterans affairs adviser Fred Wellman for defamation "over three tweets that Wellman posted in February and March of 2022."

"The tweets described Flynn as 'a traitor' and accused him of being a paid agent of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Flynn is seeking $150 million in damages," according to Newsweek.

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Attorneys for Wellman on Friday filed a sanctions request against Flynn in that lawsuit.

Raw Story spoke with Wellman, who said the "rarely granted" sanctions action is appropriate in this particular case.

"We are seeking sanctions under Florida's Anti-SLAPP laws," said Wellman, a former Republican and current Democratic campaign consultant and host of "On Democracy with FPWellman," a podcast.

He then continued, saying the sanctions were needed "because this lawsuit is clearly part of a pattern targeting those who speak out against the MAGA movement and Flynn."

"There is no merit to his lawsuit as a public figure or even the facts," Wellman added. "It's clear I am being targeted to shut me up as we go into the election year after waiting two years to even file the case."

The filing itself makes the claims in no uncertain terms.

"There are, quite simply, no set of circumstances in which the premise of Mr. Flynn's lawsuit ever had merit as a legal or factual matter," the motion for sanctions says. "No amount of discovery will change that reality."

You can read the filing here.