Sidney Powell, attorney for President Donald Trump, conducts a news conference at the Republican National Committee, November 19, 2020. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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Another key indicator that the documents were authored by the same person is the mention of two National Security Presidential Memoranda, the existence of one of which had not been known publicly.The executive order would also approve “the appointment of a Special Counsel to oversee this operation and institute all criminal and civil proceedings as appropriate based on the evidence collected,” according to the draft order.
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The possibility that Powell wrote the draft executive order won’t come as a surprise to those who’ve been closely tracking what was happening inside the White House in the weeks following the election.By December, Powell had become a central figure in the effort to undermine the validity of the vote, and together with a group of other pro-Trump lawyers, filed what became known as the “Kraken” lawsuits, conspiracy-filled documents designed to overturn election results in half a dozen states. Of the 62 lawsuits made during this period, 61 were thrown out of court instantly. The single victory was a minor one in Pennsylvania, where a judge ruled that voters who did not provide proper identification within three days of the election could not go back and fix errors on their ballots.But in the middle of December 2020, Powell still held a lot of sway within the administration and on Dec. 18, two days after the date on the executive order, Powell was in an Oval Office meeting with disgraced former national security adviser Michael Flynn and Overstock.com founder Patrick Byrne. During that meeting, according to Axios, Powell reportedly urged Trump to seize voting machines and to appoint her as a special counsel to investigate the election.Powell, who is facing several billion-dollar lawsuits and the threat of having her law license revoked, has been subpoenaed to appear before the Jan. 6 committee. She did not immediately respond to VICE News’ request for comment, sent to her lawyer. Want the best of VICE News straight to your inbox? Sign up here.