Sovereign citizen ruling could be bad news for Trump co-defendants in Georgia: analysis

Timothy Pate, a self-proclaimed sovereign citizen who also goes by Akenaten Ali, filed bogus liens and involuntary bankruptcy petitions against property owned by federal officials he claimed owed him a total of $93 million, and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling Wednesday that legal expert Anthony Michael Kreis says could impact removal proceedings for Trump's co-defendants.

"Pate, who says he's the 'heir to the kingdom of Morocco,' filed liens against property owned by individuals Pate thought wronged him including a former IRS Commissioner and a former Treasury Secretary," Kreis wrote. "Pate was charged under 18 U.S.C. § 1521, which criminalizes retaliatory liens."

"However, retaliatory liens are unlawful when made against persons included under 18 U.S.C. § 1114," he added. "So, who are those people? '[A]ny officer or employee of the United States... while such officer or employee is engaged in or on account of the performance of official duties.'"