Donald Trump’s pardoning of his former national national security adviser Michael Flynn has come under renewed scrutiny after the former president distanced himself from lawyer Sidney Powell.
On Friday, attorney Powell pleaded guilty to six offenses as a part of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ 2020 election interference investigation in Georgia, which Trump has also been indicted under.
In a statement on Sunday, Trump denied that Powell was ever his attorney, despite evidence and public statements suggesting otherwise, while claiming she would have been “conflicted” if this was the case.
Powell, along with Flynn, are linked to the QAnon movement and both frequently pushed conspiracy theories that the 2020 election was rigged against Trump due to widespread voter fraud. Powell had represented Flynn while he tried to overturn his conviction for lying to the FBI, and was part of Flynn’s legal team in November 2020 when Trump pardoned him.
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“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. Ms. Powell did a valiant job of representing a very unfairly treated and governmentally abused General Mike Flynn, but to no avail,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“His prosecution, despite the facts, was ruthless. He was an innocent man, much like many other innocent people who are being persecuted by this now Fascist government of ours, and I was honored to give him a Full Pardon!”
As noted by Marcy Wheeler, a journalist who uses the online pseudonym Emptywheel, Trump denying that Powell was ever part of his legal team, including on the day he pardoned her client Flynn, came just days after the Department of Justice said in legal filings that it would be illegal for a president to offer a pardon as part of a so-called quid pro quo agreement, or favor. The filings were made as part of the federal 2020 election investigation, where Trump is trying to dismiss the case on the basis of absolute immunity.
Wheeler also noted in her blog that the federal indictment against Trump, where Powell is listed as “co-conspirator 3,” said that the attorney had filed a lawsuit against the governor of Georgia falsely alleging “massive election fraud”—which Trump promoted even though he considered some of Powell’s election claims as “crazy”— on the same day that the former president pardoned Flynn in November 2020.
“People who think they’re cleverly fact-checking Trump about whether Sidney Powell was REALLY his attorney are missing a whole slew of things, both about the indictment and the facts,” Wheeler posted on X.
“First, denying she was his attorney doesn’t neutralize the allegation that he pushed her claims even after he claimed she was crazy. Nothing about that relies on privilege.
“More importantly: LOOK WHAT HE SAID,” she added. “He said there would be a conflict and suggests it’s [because] she represented Mike Flynn. Even in real time, the timing of his pardon and Trump’s claims were an obvious problem. The single solitary overt act in the indictment makes it far worse.”
Trump’s office has been contacted for comment.
Others noted the timing of Flynn’s pardon in relation to her working with Trump in the wake of Powell’s plea deal in Georgia.
The @7Veritas4 account on X, which frequently posts legal updates regarding Trump, wrote: “Why is he having an aneurysm over Sidney Powell?
“Not just because she flipped in Georgia this week. It’s also because of a potential conflict of interest that could put Michael Flynn’s pardon in jeopardy…something the DOJ is very interested in. Buckle up.”
Lindy Li, a political commentator, and Democratic National Committee member, wrote: “Sidney Powell is the missing link between Mike Flynn’s quid pro quo pardon from Trump and his sudden decision shortly thereafter to aggressively promote election denial and help incite a terrorist insurrection. Watch this space.”
Former FBI official Peter Strzok, who worked on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation before being fired over an alleged political bias against Trump, also noted while sharing the former president’s statement about Powell: “Apropos of nothing, let’s talk about the pardon I gave Mike Flynn.”
As part of a plea deal, Powell was given six years probation and ordered to testify against the other defendants in their Georgia trial, which may include Trump. The former president has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him under Willis’ election interference investigation.
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