Who Is Attorney Lin Wood? All About The Outspoken Donald Trump Ally
Notorious libel lawyer L. Lin Wood rose to national prominence in 2020 when he tried to overturn Donald Trump's presidential loss. Wood was no stranger to tough cases, as he has previously worked with high-profile names who were heavily scrutinized by the media. The former president very likely had this in mind when he hired Wood; however, things didn't go as planned. Wood got caught up in spreading conspiracy theories, and threatened Mike Pence for honoring the 2020 election result, so the former POTUS eventually distanced himself from the lawyer.
Wood has often gone viral for his outrageous statements outside of his claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged. In 2021, he publicly stated that the Twin Towers and the Pentagon weren't hit by planes when speaking at a rally in Georgia, as Newsweek reported. He also once voiced his agreement with the Flat Earth theory, citing the Bible as his source of reference, as noted by New York Magazine.
The details of Wood's life and career make clear the media figure embraces controversy. Here's what we know about Wood, and how his law career came to an end in 2023.
Wood won a number of demanding libel cases
Lucian Lincoln Wood, known better as L. Lin Wood, is a North Carolina native who was raised in Georgia. Wood's childhood was not easy, as his parents reportedly had an abusive relationship. In fact, when Wood was just a teenager, he came home one night and discovered his father had killed his mother. The tragic ordeal prompted the boy to become a lawyer, which he successfully did after graduating cum laude from Georgia's Mercer University School of Law.
However, his degree took Wood in a different direction than he might've intended, as he later became known as "the attorney of the damned," a moniker that was given to him by CBS journalist Dan Rather. After originally focusing on medical malpractice cases, Wood turned his attention to defamation, after defending Richard Jewell, a once-suspected bomber of the Centennial Olympic Park. It was the first libel case of Wood's that caught the public's attention.
After being heavily scrutinized by the media, Jewell successfully sued a number of media companies with the help of Wood's legal expertise. He also represented the families of JonBenét Ramsey and Natalee Holloway, who are both considered cold cases, as well as Kyle Rittenhouse, albeit briefly. However, Wood's most notorious client is considered to be the former President of the United States, Donald Trump.
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The far-right attorney is estranged from his family
In 2020, Donald Trump lost the presidential election to Joe Biden, prompting him to challenge the results. In order to do that, he turned to L. Lin Wood, but the move ultimately led to the end of Wood's legal practice. In his various attempts to prove that the ex-POTUS was robbed of votes, Wood started spreading conspiracy theories, predominantly on social media.
Some of his most controversial statements included calling the former vice president, Mike Pence, a coward on Twitter, as well as accusing Chief Justice John Roberts, Senator Mitch McConnell, and again, Pence, of treason. Trump's team quickly distanced themselves from Wood, per Business Insider. Wood's erratic behavior, as well as filing lawsuits with unfounded evidence, prompted the State Bar of Georgia to ask for Wood's psychiatric evaluation in 2021.
He refused to take it, according to Forbes, and sued. But the libel attorney ultimately gave up his law license on his own and retired, seemingly to avoid disbarment, as AP News disclosed. He reportedly lives in South Carolina and is estranged from his children and grandchildren, The AJC noted. Wood also created a rift between himself and the rest of his family when he adopted Christianity.