Powell claimed she was “blocked by the White House counsel and others from seeing or speaking to the president” after raising “evidence of foreign interference from Iran and China.”
A meeting with Powell, White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, chief of staff Mark Meadows, and others at the White House turned sour on Friday, with Cipollone relaying to Trump that Powell had “no constitutional authority for what was being discussed,” according to the New York Times.
Most of Trump’s advisers have reportedly said they oppose naming her special counsel and grown tired of her increasingly unhinged conspiracy theories.
During an interview with Newsmax on Monday, Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani distanced the president from Powell, maintaining she “does not speak” for the administration.
Last month, the Trump campaign cut ties with Powell, insisting she “is not a member of the Trump Legal Team,” even though the president had said previously that she was.
Sidney Powell claims she’s blocked from seeing Trump pic.twitter.com/HPq3qw9Ybt
— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) December 22, 2020
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
According to the Daily Beast, Trump told Powell on Monday he is not planning on naming her special counsel.
KEY BACKGROUND
Powell has spouted wild conspiracy theories involving the election, including claiming Trump lost Georgia because Gov. Brian Kemp—a Trump ally and Republican—was bribed by an election systems company. She also appears to believe in the QAnon conspiracy theory.
CHIEF CRITIC
“Ms. Powell has peddled theories that have little basis in fact,” GOP strategist Karl Rove said on Fox News on Tuesday.