News broke last week that lawyer Sidney Powell, who promoted wild conspiracy theories in support of former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, had pleaded guilty and agreed to testify in the case brought against Trump and 18 co-conspirators by Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis. Many commentators suggested that the plea was bad news for Trump, an indication that Powell had “flipped” against the former president. That doesn’t appear to be the case.
Right Wing Watch noted after the plea deal was announced that Powell’s pinned tweet still suggested that election fraud took place in Fulton County, Georgia. It still does. More to the point, Powell’s “Defending the Republic” email newsletter sent Monday morning makes it clear that she is still in Trump’s camp. It includes links and excerpts from several stories that she encourages readers to share.
The first excerpt is from the right-wing Epoch Times, quoting Trump attorney Steve Sadow saying the pleas by Powell and others were the result of pressure from Willis under threat of prison time. The story cites Sadow saying that Powell’s testimony could only be favorable to Trump if she testifies truthfully.
The second item Powell shared with supporters is a video from a Real America’s Voice network interview with Powell’s friend Don Brown. “If Sidney is guilty of anything, it’s of this: she’s a red-blooded, American patriot who’s only told the truth.” He argued that “the spin” that should be that the plea is a defeat for Willis, who he denounced as a “rogue prosecutor.”
The third item was a Sunday morning post by Trump himself to his Truth social account, in which he praised Powell for doing a “valiant job” defending Mike Flynn from “this now Fascist government of ours.” Powell’s newsletter quotes Trump: “Sidney Powell was one of millions of Americans who thought, and in ever increasing numbers still think, correctly, that the 2020 Presidential Election was RIGGED & STOLEN, AND OUR COUNTRY IS BEING ABSOLUTELY DESTROYED BECAUSE OF IT!!!”
The fourth item is a link to a commentary at right-wing publication The Federalist that claimed Willis had “extorted a guilty plea from Powell” and “went nuclear” to “weaponize” the criminal justice system against Trump.
Powell had been charged with multiple felonies; she was permitted to plead guilty to six misdemeanor charges in return for agreeing to testify and serving six years of probation for conspiracy to interfere with performance of election duties. Under Georgia’s First Offender Act, the conviction will disappear from her record if she successfully completes her sentence.
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