# Is Sidney Powell insane? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 22, 2020, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169 "2020-11-22T04:25:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/423 "2021-06-19T12:07:51Z")
Ms Powell and her kraken team are facing potential professional discipline: > **[Former Trump attorney who vowed to 'release the Kraken' facing sanction...](https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2021/06/18/trump-election-attorneys-sanction-detroit-michigan/7744630002/)** > > Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has asked the court to sanction Powell, a Texas lawyer, along with Michigan attorneys. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/424 "2021-06-19T12:52:09Z")
She’s got money trouble in Florida, too, now: > **[Florida Democrat: Kraken lawyer's group illegally operating](https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-joe-biden-florida-election-2020-government-and-politics-ee8a772b8cff384a945bbe5a38fb44cb)** > > FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Florida's Democratic agriculture commissioner, whose office polices charities, alleged Friday that a group run by one of former President Donald Trump's most prominent election conspiracy adherents is illegally seeking... ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/425 "2021-06-19T17:38:44Z")
Why not? Using fake charities to scam the rubes is straight out of the Trump playbook. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/426 "2021-06-21T16:03:02Z")
The “kraken” turned out to be a hand puppet slowly releasing the air from a balloon. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/427 "2021-06-23T01:34:34Z")
Also I would note that confirmation bias is an affliction that affects [the dumb and the smart fairly equally](https://www.globalcognition.org/intelligence-and-cognitive-bias/). Being smart can give you the ability to come up with creative ways to convince yourself that the facts support what you want to believe. I would imagine a lawyer, who is used to trying to make any and all facts fit their side of the case, would be particularly susceptible. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/428 "2021-06-23T10:28:32Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Intelligence is not adequately measured by a linear scale. For instance someone can be really good at understanding what is asked of them in an educational (and some other settings), but be shit at independently evaluating evidence and resisting garbage information or their own faulty misconceptions. Or just be highly compartmentalized. See, for example, Ben Carson. By all accounts he was a gifted and accomplished surgeon. And by all evidence, he is a complete dumbass in most other respects. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/429 "2021-06-23T17:41:39Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > believe. I would imagine a lawyer, who is used to trying to make any and all facts fit their side of the case, would be particularly susceptible. This is an odd understanding of what lawyers do. A good trial lawyer is one of the most sceptical beasts around, both in assessing their their own evidence, and the other side’s. Taking a hard-nosed approach to the evidence is essential. For example, suppose you’re a lawyer who takes civil litigation suits on a contingency. That means that you’re putting your own money on the line. If you’re not successful on your client’s case, you’re personally out of pocket. All that money you’ve personally put into bringing the matter to trial is gone. That means that you have to be realistic about your chances of success, and that means taking a hard look at the evidence the client is relying on. If you continually take weak cases to court, you’ll be running your practice at a loss, and eventually you will go bankrupt. You only take cases to court that you think you’ve got a good shot at winning, based on a realistic assessment of your client’s evidence, and the evidence on the other side. That’s an aspect of the practice of law that is relevant to concerns about frivolous lawsuits. The market itself imposes a restraint on frivolous lawsuits, by making lawyers on contingency take a hard look at the evidence and passing on it if they don’t think they have a reasonable chance of success. That’s also why what Powell has been doing is so unusual. She had a good rep before this, I gather, just like Rudy did. What is it about Trump that sucks smart people into the crazy zone? I just don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2021, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/430 "2021-06-24T08:28:18Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > What is it about Trump that sucks smart people into the crazy zone? I just don’t get it. It’s a cult. Pure and simple. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/431 "2021-06-25T18:56:51Z")
Dominion argues that Powell, Ghouliani et al do it just hob-knob with those in power. “Look at me! The President takes my calls! I sometimes actually speak with him!” Importance by association, as it were. That makes as much sense to me as anything else. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/432 "2021-06-25T19:16:33Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Isn’t that the name of the lawyer in Harry Potter ? I’m late to the game here, but this was well-played 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2021, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/433 "2021-07-12T14:05:55Z")
If you’re looking for a good chuckle this morning, you can check out the [live Zoom hearing into sanctions for the Ktaken team.](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/live-blog/michigan-judge-holds-sanctions-hearing-on-2020-election-conspiracy-mongers) The crazy is on full display. As is the lying. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2021, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/434 "2021-07-12T14:15:12Z")
I love that L. Lin Wood is claiming that he had nothing to do with the lawsuit that has his name on it, that he promoted multiple times on national television AND which he cited in a subsequent court filing in another state. [Eddie Murphy voice] It wasn’t me. [/Eddie Murphy voice] ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2021, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/435 "2021-07-12T14:51:13Z")
And Powell is claiming she specifically asked Wood’s permission before putting his name on the lawsuit. It’s an ouroboros of under-bus-throwing. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2021, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/436 "2021-07-12T14:52:28Z")
I’m loving the “we’re too stupid to understand the falsities\* we submitted based on Ramsland and Spyder” so you can’t sanction us" defense. \*They’re not really falsities until you hold an actual hearing, despite all the evidence in the public record. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2021, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/437 "2021-07-12T15:13:18Z")
It’s a tough call. Nobody wants to hold multiple evidentiary hearings in court to establish by a preponderance of the evidence just how many false allegations the Krakens made in their filings. It would be fascinating and fun to see them squirm as lie after lie is unraveled in court. But I don’t think it would matter at all, because the Kraken’s lawyers will (and have) simply argue that “sure they’re all falsities, but we were too dumb to have known it.” The judge is right that lawyers have a duty to review the allegations in the affidavits they submit. It certainly wasn’t done here. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2021, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/438 "2021-07-12T15:22:17Z")
You might think “We admit we’re too stupid to do our job properly” would in itself be compelling evidence for sanctions and/or disbarment. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2021, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/439 "2021-07-12T15:29:01Z")
Sidebar: don’t you love it when there are four skulls in a row? Like SDMB bingo or something. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2021, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/440 "2021-07-12T16:17:15Z")
Kudos to Donald Campbell for his valiant, if incredibly tenuous, arguments to help the Krakens. One shining beacon of rationality in a sea of obfuscation and ass-covering. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2021, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/441 "2021-07-12T16:24:13Z")
Another burst of laughter from me when Fink (Detroit’s lawyer) says something along the lines “I do not doubt Ms. Haller when she says she doesn’t understand the question”. Ouch. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2021, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/442 "2021-07-12T17:07:17Z")
The judge is seriously losing patience with Mr. Campbell. This is not going well for them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169.md?page=23)