It's entirely reasonable to say Trump's election lawyers need to produce hard evidence to back up their sweeping allegations, PDQ.
It's absurd to expect them to do it live on a talk show, as if they were carrying Marsellus Wallace's magic glowing briefcase from Pulp Fiction.
It's absurd to expect them to do it live on a talk show, as if they were carrying Marsellus Wallace's magic glowing briefcase from Pulp Fiction.
Host: You say thousands of votes were switched by corrupt computer software. You need to prove it.
Sidney Powell: Of course. I have the proof right here.
[opens briefcase, golden light spills out]
Host: Is that...?
Powell: Yes.
Host: Wow. OK, you win. I'm sold.
Sidney Powell: Of course. I have the proof right here.
[opens briefcase, golden light spills out]
Host: Is that...?
Powell: Yes.
Host: Wow. OK, you win. I'm sold.
There is no way the "evidence" of the most serious claims is something that can be dangled in front of cameras. There is no way that attempting to do so would convince anyone, nor should it. The evidence will be extensively evaluated by experts and presented to judges.
It's perfectly appropriate to say the clock is ticking and this evidence needs to be correctly presented in the proper venue very quickly. Treating it like prop comedy on a talk-show set or at a press conference isn't exactly going to make it look more serious and credible.
It's possible Trump's team sincerely believes they have ironclad evidence, but it doesn't pass muster with court analysts. In other words, they're not trying to scam anyone, but they're mistaken about the value of what they have. Their reputations would survive in that case.
If they really are putting on a show and they don't have the proof to back up their claims, then it will destroy their reputations and create a great deal of animosity toward them. They must know this. By all accounts, such behavior would seem uncharacteristic of Sidney Powell.
And if they really do have that ironclad evidence and it holds up in court, then we've sailed off the map into Here There Be Dragons territory and God knows what happens next. This is Twenty Goddamn Twenty, so if there was ever a time for one last unthinkable 11th-hour twist...
But in any case, it's all going to happen in the courts and it's all going to happen pretty quickly. We really need to stop expecting everything to be resolved in real-time before cameras, or on Twitter. HEALTHY skepticism is not compatible with short attention spans. /end