Following his November election loss, Donald Trump compiled his “elite strike force” of lawyers. The team featured noted kooks like Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis. But Sidney Powell certainly stood out as the zaniest of the group.
Powell made increasingly wild claims about the long-dead Hugo Chavez as being a part of the plot to hand the election to Joe Biden. And she made plenty of claims about Dominion voting machines.
In response, Dominion named the lawyer in a $1.3 billion lawsuit. Powell is defending herself by claiming that no one would take her claims seriously. And all over Twitter, users are referring to this as the Tucker Carlson Defense.
According to Buzzfeed’s Zoe Tillman, “She (Powell) argues that when she accused Dominion of being part of an election-rigging scheme with ties to Venezuela, ‘no reasonable person would conclude’ those were truly statements of fact.”
Sidney Powell has moved to dismiss Dominion’s defamation lawsuit. She argues that when she accused Dominion of being part of an election-rigging scheme with ties to Venezuela, “no reasonable person would conclude” those “were truly statements of fact” https://t.co/RDPD1eGvY3 pic.twitter.com/p5zssgV5JJ
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) March 22, 2021
People are quick to compare this strategy to one Fox News incorporated while defending host Tucker Carlson. The Judge in the case, Mary Kay Vyskocil, agreed with the strategy, writing, “Fox persuasively argues, that given Mr. Carlson’s reputation, any reasonable viewer ‘arrive[s] with an appropriate amount of skepticism’ about the statement he makes.”
The Tucker Carlson Defense is now a trending topic on Twitter. Attorney Ron Filipkowski writes, “In Sidney Powell’s response to the Dominion lawsuit, her lawyers state that she never actually believed what she was saying, she was just representing her client’s position. The Tucker Carlson defense.”
In Sidney Powell’s response to the Dominion lawsuit, her lawyers state that she never actually believed what she was saying, she was just representing her client’s position. The Tucker Carlson defense. pic.twitter.com/VwXcSc7rrM
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) March 22, 2021
And author Grant Stern notes, “In deploying The Tucker Carlson defense, Sidney Powell is admitting that her credibility is completely nonexistent.”
In deploying The Tucker Carlson defense, Sidney Powell is admitting that her credibility is completely nonexistent. https://t.co/WQbWAwzWt9
— Grant Stern (@grantstern) March 22, 2021
Todd Neikirk is a New Jersey based politics and technology writer. His work has been featured in psfk.com, foxsports.com and hillreporter.com. He enjoys sports, politics, comic books and spending time at the shore with his family.
