Top Trump aides pushed back on Sidney Powell during a chaotic West Wing meeting
Published Date: 12/20/2020
Source: axios.com

There were "raised voice levels and animated conversation" during a chaotic Friday night meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office, a source familiar with the meeting tells Axios.

Driving the news: As the N.Y. Times first reported yesterday, the meeting included — at various times — Rudy Giuliani, Gen. Michael Flynn and conspiracy-minded election lawyer Sidney Powell.


  • Chief of staff Mark Meadows and counsel Pat Cipollone pushed back strenuously on some of the more far-out ideas, including impounding voting machines and making Powell special counsel for election fraud.

"It's basically Sidney versus everybody," the source said. "That is why voices were raised. There is literally not one motherf—r in the president’s entire orbit — his staunchest group of supporters and allies — who doesn't think that Sidney Powell should be on that first rocket to Mars."

  • "These are the hardcore defenders. This is the one thing that has united people."

Between the lines: The obvious exception, of course, is the president of the United States.