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A lawyer for an alleged co-conspirator in the Georgia 2020 election interference case has said that former Donald Trump lawyer Sidney Powell is mostly at fault over "knowingly" pushing false claims about the results.
Tim Parlatore, a former Trump attorney who currently represents ex-New York Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik, made the claim after his client was subpoenaed to give evidence in the trial of Georgia defendants Powell and lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, which is due to begin on October 23. This would be the first trial as part of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' sprawling election interference case.
Kerik has not been charged under Willis' probe, but Parlatore previously confirmed to CNN that he was among the 30 "unindicted co-conspirators" who were featured in Willis' indictment against the former president and 18 others, including Powell and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Kerik is accused of participating in meetings in states where Trump was contesting the 2020 election results, such as Pennsylvania and Arizona. In a letter to Fulton County District Attorney's Office, Parlatore demanded that his client be granted immunity in exchange for testifying while noting that Willis' indictment doesn't contain "any alleged criminal activity" about the former New York police commissioner.
Speaking to CNN on Monday, Parlatore suggested that Powell, who frequently pushed 2020 election conspiracy theories and misinformation and has been linked to the QAnon movement, is the one who should be most concerned about Kerik's testimony, and that of others.
"In this group, it is primarily Sidney Powell, because the testimony that Kerik has is that Rudy Giuliani and his whole team were pursuing leads, they were hampered by lack of time, a lack of resources and so that prevented them from being able to chase everything down completely, it certainly did lead to certain inaccuracies," Parlatore said.
"But when they talk about people putting out knowingly false claims, Kerik and others are going to be able to point right over at Sidney Powell and say, 'Hey, what they're accusing us of, she did.' And then he's going to be able to testify about that's why she was fired, that's why President Trump told her she wasn't allowed back in the White House."
Newsweek has contacted Powell's legal team for comment via email.
Powell has pleaded not guilty to seven counts under Willis' RICO probe, including two counts of conspiracy to commit election fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit computer theft.
Powell is accused of illegally accessing and removing computer voting data from the Coffee County Board of Elections in Georgia, as well as discussing a plot to seize voting equipment as part of attempts to overturn the election results in favor of Trump.
Elsewhere, Powell features in Special Counsel Jack Smith's federal indictment under the investigation into attempts to overturn the 2020 election, where Trump has pleaded not guilty to four counts. Powell has not been charged in Smith's probe.
Powell was identified as Co-conspirator 3, who was described in the indictment as an attorney whose "unfounded claims of election fraud [Trump] privately acknowledged to others sounded 'crazy.'
"Nonetheless, the Defendant embraced and publicly amplified Co-Conspirator 3's disinformation," the indictment adds.
When asked by CNN why Powell's "crazy" comments were any different from others who pushed false claims about the 2020 election results, Parlatore replied: "Because she was pushing things that had already been found not to be true."
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, and Florida ... Read more