Sidney Powell, Lin Wood and seven others could be disbarred after a federal judge ruled that their lawsuit in Michigan “represents a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process”.

In a 110-page judgment, District Judge Linda Parker said: “It is one thing to take on the charge of vindicating rights associated with an allegedly fraudulent election.

“It is another to take on the charge of deceiving a federal court and the American people into believing that rights were infringed, without regard to whether any laws or rights were in fact violated. This is what happened here.”

She said the case “was never about fraud — it was about undermining the people’s faith in our democracy and debasing the judicial process to do so”.

The case against the lawyers was brought by the City of Detroit, the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Michigan Democratic Party and Robert Davis.

The lawyers were ordered to pay Detroit’s court costs and undergo 12 hours of continuing legal education, including six hours on election law.

The judge said a copy of her decision would be sent to state attorney grievance commissions for investigation, possible suspension or disbarment of the lawyers, NBC News reports.