Reached on her cell phone by TPMmuckraker and informed of the $20,000 fine imposed on her by a federal judge this morning, Birther attorney Orly Taitz responded, first, with laughter.
“So he didn’t recuse himself?” Taitz asked, after letting out an extended, nervous-sounding chuckle.
Still defiant after months of legal wrangling and, by our count, three written denunciations by federal district court Judge Clay Land, Taitz said she had absolutely no plans to pay the $20,000 fine.
“Are you kidding? Of course not,” she said, asked whether she planned to send a check. “This is a form of intimidation.”
Instead, she plans to file yet another written response (though it’s unclear whether the court will even accept one).
“I’ll go to the circuit court of appeals. I’ll take this as high as I have to go,” Taitz said.
Asked about the judge’s promise to refer the matter to the U.S. Attorney if she didn’t pay within 30 days, Taitz said she’d have to take a look at the order.
Land wrote:
If counsel fails to pay the sanction due, the U.S. Attorney will be authorized to commence collection proceedings. [footnote:] The Court does not take this action lightly, and in fact, cannot recall having previously imposed monetary sanctions upon an attorney sua sponte.
Sua sponte is Latin for “of one’s own accord” — in other words, the court acting without prompt by any of the litigants.