Trump lawyer Sidney Powell fires back at ‘rude’ Tucker Carlson as even he says she lacks evidence for voter fraud

As effort to overturn election flounders, top lawyer has drawn ridicule for propagating outlandish conspiracy theories

One of the Trump campaign’s leading attorneys has been criticised by top Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson for refusing to provide any concrete evidence of voter fraud – and she has responded by retweeting bizarre conspiracy theories about him.

Sidney Powell’s description of supposed fraudulent programming of electronic voting machines and her description of nefarious international efforts to steal the election have won her praise in much of the conservative media and among many grassroots Trump supporters.

But in a Thursday night segment on his show Tucker Carlson Tonight, the host (and dogged Trump loyalist) pointed out that she has “never demonstrated that a single actual vote was moved illegitimately by software from one candidate to another”.

He also described in unflattering terms the process of contacting Ms Powell and asking her for the evidence on which the Trump campaign is basing its legal campaign.

“We would've given her the whole hour,” he said to camera. “We would've given her the entire week, actually, and listened quietly the whole time at rapt attention. That's a big story. But she never sent us any evidence, despite a lot of requests – polite requests. Not a page.

“When we kept pressing, she got angry and told us to stop contacting her. When we checked with others around the Trump campaign, people in positions of authority, they told us Powell has never given them any evidence either. Nor did she provide any today at the press conference.”

In the aftermath of Mr Carlson’s monologue questioning her claims, Ms Powell shared a number of tweets supporting her while condemning Mr Carlson’s account of their exchange.

In one of them, retired orthopaedic surgeon Dr Dave Janda described Mr Carlson as “some guy who is owned by The Syndicate” – possibly a reference to The X-Files, in which a hidden power elite by that name machinates to conceal the activities of intelligent extraterrestrials on Earth.

In a statement she gave to Washington Examiner reporter Anthony Leonardi, Ms Powell dismissed the idea she was especially concerned about Mr Carlson’s coverage.

“Apparently Mr Carlson missed the news conference today,” she told the journalist. “I would continue to encourage him and all journalists to review all the materials we have provided so far and conduct their own investigations.

“Evidence continues to pour in, but a five-minute television hit is not my focus right now. Collecting evidence and preparing the case are my top priorities.”

However, during a live-on-air call to Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo on Friday, Ms Powell said that while she “didn’t get angry” with Mr Carlson’s request, his behaviour was beyond the pale.

Insisting she had sent him an affidavit and even offered him “another witness who could explain the mathematics and statistical evidence” far better than she herself could, she also claimed that “He was very insulting, demanding and rude, and I told him not to contact me again in those terms.”

The surreal Thursday press conference at which Ms Powell appeared saw her, Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis complain about negative press coverage and claim they have “six paths to victory” in their campaign to revoke the president’s defeat – despite almost all their legal actions having already been thrown out of court.

The event has been the subject of intense ridicule largely because of Mr Giuliani’s performance, which saw him ranting furiously at the media while runnels of hair dye conspicuously trickled down his jowls.

However, Ms Powell has come in for her fair share of mockery too thanks to the outlandish claims she made about election interference, which included conspiracy theories about connections between George Soros and the Clinton Foundation, and “the massive influence of communist money through Venezuela, Cuba, and likely China”.