President Trump’s campaign on Sunday distanced itself from Sidney Powell, saying the lawyer who has been alleging voter fraud in the presidential election “is not a member of Trump’s legal team.” Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, reiterated that “Sidney Powell is practicing law on his own.”
Who is Sidney Powell?
Sidney Powell has been a key member of President Trump’s legal team. Powell, a former federal prosecutor, took over last year as lead counsel for Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russia. Since then, a federal judge has rejected his allegations of procedural misconduct and has supported a motion by the Justice Department to dismiss the indictment, a request that remains pending before Federal District Judge Emmet Sullivan.
Following Biden’s victory in the presidential election, Powell has been making headlines in recent weeks for his increasingly outrageous and unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud. Even after Trump’s campaign statement, Powell said, “I intend to expose all the fraud and let the tokens fall where they can. We will not allow the foundations of this great Republic to be destroyed by heinous fraud or our votes for President Trump and other Republicans to be stolen by foreign interests or anyone else. “
Powell made headlines with his remarks at a press conference Thursday where, along with Giuliani and Ellis, he suggested without evidence that a server hosting evidence of voting irregularities was located in Germany and that the voting software used by Georgia and other states were created at the address. of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
Read more | Judge rejects Trump’s offer to stop Pennsylvania vote certification
What led to the fallout between the Trump campaign and Powell?
Although there has been no immediate clarification from the Trump team, the fallout between the Trump campaign and Powell was abrupt as President Trump himself had appreciated Powell’s involvement last week by tweeting:
“I hope Mayor Giuliani leads the legal effort to defend OUR RIGHT to FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS! Rudy Giuliani, Joseph diGenova, Victoria Toensing, Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis, a great team, join our other wonderful attorneys and representatives. “
But Republicans have increasingly expressed concern about Powell’s heightened rhetoric. Powell’s attacks on Georgia’s governor and top election official, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who are Republicans, were also criticized by the party. And therefore, for Republicans, Powell’s departure was not only imminent but also necessary.
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