The sordid tale began with a 2006 charge against Mercouris resulting in a disbarment in 3 December 2012. Details are at the following source:
https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/disciplinary_finding/76984.html
The Legal Cheek article was in the same year as a UK tabloid ran the tale. "Beautician wins right to sue barrister who 'lied over payout'," Evening Standard, 14 July 2017.
But the legal story continued with arguments and counter arguments, which continued until 2020. From the dismissal of the whole, one reads:
"Conclusion (Mr Justice Murray:) 141. In summary, Mr Jamous; failure to file his Appellant's Notice within the time limit stipulated by the rules was a serious and significant breach that continued even after an explicit warning by Martin Spencer J that the appeal was out of time and, if it was going to be pursued, should be filed "as soon as possible". There was good reason for that serious and significant breach. Having regard to all the circumstance of the case, there is no justification for relief from sanctions. Accordingly, in my judgment, applying the principles set out in Mitchell, Denton and Mysaj, Mr Jamous's application for an extension of time to file his Appellant's Notice must be refused.
142. The effect of this is that Mr Jamous's application for permission to appeal the 18 December Order does not fall to be determined and, accordingly, Mr Jamous's claim against Mr Mercouris remains struck out by virtue of the 18 December Order.
Source: https://www.casemine.com/judgement/uk/5f9b9b702c94e005e4e75361
The tale is over. The disbarred barrister, the strange litigants -- son and mother -- and a strange tale. More in the 23 October 2020 judgment: "At {76} Stewart J noted: "Mrs Jamous has serially: (a) Issued applications certified as totally without merit, (b) Failed to comply with court orders, (c) Issued applications without notice to the Defendant, (d) Attended before judges without making application." And a paragraph later, "certified as totally without merit."
So citing the 2017 Legal Cheek article ends with reading the true end to the affair in 2020.
I have no argument with the notion that Mercouris, this war commenter, has a sordid past, but when one measures people by their past, most likely all the Democrat Party and a whopping big percentage of the Republicans have sordid pasts for tastier than this "kill the messenger" inclusion into the Ukraine/Russia conflict.
As to sordid pasts involving Ukraine, one should not forget the princelings and wannabe oligarchs, sons of Biden, Pelosi, Kerry and Romney were busy enriching themselves through the corruption in pre-war Ukraine. One should also not forget Undersecretary Nuland's hand in the color revolution and Maidan color revolution and her fine diplomacy caught on mike as she said, "F**k Europe."
Taken together as a larger picture, Mercouris is small potatoes. Propaganda from and on both sides floods the news. Mercouris maybe even is a "pizdobol" is, as you write. But having only now looked into the word, I learn it is Russian slang.
Source: https://definithing.com/pizdabol/
Thanks for teaching us a bit of Russian slang. Next 'tempest in a teapot,' I might use the word.