Sidney Powell fails to release ‘Kraken’; finds herself out of a job

BY JACK CROWE

November 23, 2020

DAYS AFTER ALLEGING AN "INTERNATIONAL CONSPIRACY" involving the manipulation of millions of ballots by Dominion Voting Systems, attorney Sidney Powell has failed to release her long-promised "Kraken" and instead finds herself out of a job.

Powell first posited the Dominion theory during a Thursday press conference, telling reporters gathered at the RNC headquarters in Washington, D.C. that the voting software firm had been compromised by "the massive influence of communist money through Venezuela, Cuba, and likely China." Powell's madcap theory was presented as merely an opening statement that would be proven out in due time.

She then appeared on Newsmax the following night to flesh out the conspiracy theory, not by providing anything resembling evidence, but instead by accusing Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger and governor Brian Kemp, both Republicans, of being "in on the Dominion scam."

"Georgia is probably going to be the first state I'm gonna blow up," Powell said before accusing Kemp and Raffesnperger of accepting bribes from Dominion to cooperate with a scheme to switch millions of ballots from Trump to Biden.

Again, Powell didn't bother supplying evidence to substantiate the explosive claim, instead insisting that she "had been told" that such evidence existed.

That appeared to be a bridge too far for a Trump legal team on its last legs, having just had its case in Pennsylvania dismissed because the named defendants — seven counties and the secretary of state — had no plausible connection to the two plaintiffs, neither of whom lived in those counties.

"Sidney Powell is practicing law on her own," Trump campaign lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis said in a statement. "She is not a member of the Trump Legal Team."

Republicans who have proven reluctant to categorically acknowledge Biden's victory have proven more willing to call Powell's lawyering what it is.

Senator Joni Ernst (R., Iowa) told a Fox News radio program that her claims were "offensive" and former New jersey governor Chris Christie called the contents of her theory, and her unwillingness to prove it in a courtroom, a "national embarrassment."

"This is outrageous conduct by any lawyer," Christie said Sunday, hours before Powell was cut from the team. "They allege fraud outside the courtroom, but when they go inside the courtroom, they don't plead fraud and they don't argue fraud."

Even after being fired, Powell was undeterred.

"I agree with the statement today. I will represent #WeThePeople and seek the Truth. I intend to expose all the fraud and let the chips fall where they may. We will not allow the foundations of this great Republic to be destroyed by abject fraud."

AstraZeneca, Oxford Coronavirus Vaccine Up to 90 Percent Effective

AstraZeneca and Oxford University said Monday that their coronavirus vaccine was up to 90 percent effective in late-stage trials and can be easily distributed as it does not require freezing.

The vaccine showed 90 percent efficacy in preventing COVID-19 when it was given as a half dose followed by a full dose at least one month apart, and just 62 percent efficacy when two full doses were given at least a month apart, for an average of 70 percent efficacy, AstraZeneca said.

"These findings show that we have an effective vaccine that will save many lives," Andrew Pollard, the chief investigator for the drug's trial and an Oxford University professor said.

Chris Christie: Trump Legal Team a 'National Embarrassment'

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Sunday called President Trump's legal efforts to overturn the results of the presidential election a "national embarrassment."

Christie, a Republican and longtime ally of Trump, called on the president's team to share any evidence of voter fraud that they have, saying on ABC, "If you have got the evidence of fraud, present it."

"Quite frankly, the conduct of the President's legal team has been a national embarrassment," he said, referring to the President's lawyers attacks on Republican governors who have not supported the campaign's voter fraud claims.

Christie took aim at Trump attorney Sidney Powell who had repeatedly pushed unfounded claims of voter fraud, saying she would "release the kraken" of evidence, though she never shared any such evidence publicly.

Trump Campaign Requests Second Georgia Recount

The Trump campaign on Saturday requested a second recount of Georgia's presidential election results after an initial hand recount confirmed President-elect Joe Biden's razor-thin lead.

"Today, the Trump campaign filed a petition for recount in Georgia," the campaign said in a statement. "We are focused on ensuring that every aspect of Georgia State Law and the U.S. Constitution are followed so that every legal vote is counted."

The second recount requested by the Trump campaign would be conducted by machine, rather than by hand as the first recount was done.

"Because the margin is still less than 0.5 percent, the President can request a recount after certification of the results. That recount will be conducted by rescanning all paper ballots," Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, said in a statement when the hand recount was completed on Friday.

GOP Senator Pat Toomey Congratulates Biden, Urges Trump to Accept Election Results

Republican Senator Pat Toomey (Pa.) issued a statement Saturday evening congratulating President-elect Joe Biden and urging President Trump to "accept the outcome of the election" hours after the Trump campaign suffered another legal defeat in Pennsylvania.

"With today's decision by Judge Matthew Brann, a longtime conservative Republican whom I know to be a fair and unbiased jurist, to dismiss the Trump campaign's lawsuit, President Trump has exhausted all plausible legal options to challenge the result of the presidential race in Pennsylvania," Toomey said in a statement.

The federal judge on Saturday dismissed a lawsuit from the campaign that sought to invalidate millions of votes in Pennsylvania and block the certification of the state's election results. Trump wrote in a tweet Saturday night that he plans to appeal the decision.

Operation Warp Speed Chief Predicts Return to Normal Life in May as Americans Are Vaccinated

Dr. Moncef Slaoui, chief of Operation Warp Speed, the initiative which is managing the Trump administration's coronavirus vaccine development efforts, predicted Sunday that life could return to normal around May as Americans begin receiving vaccinations against the coronavirus.

Asked by CNN's Jake Tapper how many Americans would need to be vaccinated for life to return to normal and when that might happen, Slaoui said that about 70 percent of the U.S. population would have to be immunized "for true herd immunity."

"That is likely to happen in the month of May or something like that, based on our plans," Slaoui said about a return to normalcy. "I really hope and look forward to seeing that the level of negative perception of the vaccine decreases and people's acceptance increases. That is going to be critical to help us. Most people need to be immunized before we can go back to a normal life."