Former President Donald Trump claimed in an Oct. 21 Truth Social post that Sidney Powell was not his lawyer.
Verdict: Misleading
While Trump said that Powell was his lawyer and she was identified as such by media outlets, it appears that she never represented him in court.
Fact Check:
Powell, an attorney who represented former Gen. Michael Flynn, pled guilty to trying to overturn the 2020 election, according to The Associated Press. Powell will serve six years of probation, pay a $6,000 fine, and agree to testify truthfully in the case, the outlet reported.
Trump posted to Truth Social to claim that Powell never was his lawyer.
“Sidney Powell was one of millions and millions of people who thought, and in ever increasing numbers still think, correctly, that the 2020 Presidential Election was RIGGED & STOLLEN, AND OUR COUNTRY IS BEING ABSOLUTELY DESTROYED BECAUSE OF IT!!! Despite the Fake News reports to the contrary, and without even reaching out to ask the Trump Campaign, MS. POWELL WAS NOT MY ATTORNEY, AND NEVER WAS. In fact, she would have been conflicted,” Trump wrote.
This claim, however, is misleading. Trump said that Powell was part of his legal team. For example, Trump announced in a Nov. 15, 2020 tweet that Powell was part of his legal team.
I look forward to Mayor Giuliani spearheading the legal effort to defend OUR RIGHT to FREE and FAIR ELECTIONS! Rudy Giuliani, Joseph diGenova, Victoria Toensing, Sidney Powell, and Jenna Ellis, a truly great team, added to our other wonderful lawyers and representatives!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2020
Powell also appeared at a Nov. 19 2020 press conference, where she was identified as a Trump campaign lawyer by C-Span and the Associated Press, while CNN said she was “working” for the campaign.
The Trump campaign legal team distanced itself from Powell in a Nov. 22, 2020 statement, according to CBS News. In the statement, Giuliani and Ellis said that Powell was not a lawyer on Trump’s campaign legal team nor a personal lawyer.
“Sidney Powell is practicing law on her own. She is not a member of the Trump Legal Team. She is also not a lawyer for the President in his personal capacity,” the statement reads. (RELATED: Hamas Official Falsely Claims Group Did Not Kill Any Civilians)
Check Your Fact reviewed legal filings in different court cases brought forth by the Trump campaign in 2020. In the Trump’s campaign lawsuit in Arizona, Powell is not listed as a lawyer for the campaign. Trump’s campaign lawsuits in Georgia, Michigan (both state and federal), and Nevada likewise do not list Powell listed as a lawyer.
His lawsuits in Wisconsin also do not list Powell as a lawyer. His lawsuits in Pennsylvania also do not list Powell as a lawyer, either.
Powell’s lawyers wrote, in an Aug. 30 motion to sever her case from Trump’s case, that she had never represented Trump or the campaign.
“Contrary to widely publicized false statements in the media, Sidney Powell did not represent President Trump or the Trump campaign. She had no engagement agreement with either. She appears on no pleadings for Trump or the Campaign. She appeared in no courtrooms or hearings for Trump or the Campaign. She had no contact with most of her purported conspirators and rarely agreed with those she knew or spoke with,” Powell’s lawyers wrote in the motion.
Trump weighed making Powell special counsel in an investigation into alleged voter fraud, according to The New York Times. She also filed numerous lawsuits that failed to overturn the election or prove widespread voter fraud occurred, the outlet reported.
Check Your Fact reached out to the Trump campaign for comment and will update this article if a response is provided.