Powell disavowed

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump’s election campaign issued a statement yesterday distancing itself from Sidney Powell, a lawyer who made baseless allegations of voter fraud at a news conference last week.

‘‘Sidney Powell is practising law on her own,’’ campaign lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis said.

‘‘She is not a member of the Trump Legal Team.’’

Powell, a conservative activist and former federal prosecutor, did not respond to a request for comment.

Trump had referred to Powell as one of his lawyers in a November 14 tweet.

‘‘Rudy Giuliani, Joseph diGenova, Victoria Toensing, Sidney Powell, and Jenna Ellis, a truly great team, added to our other wonderful lawyers and representatives,’’ he tweeted.

Powell said last week, without evidence, that electronic voting systems had switched millions of ballots to favour Joe Biden.

She is representing Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, in his effort to end a longrunning criminal case against him. — Reuters

‘‘We just want to try to find a way to do it as safely as possible.’’

Critics of Trump, including some Republicans, have accused him of trying to undermine faith in the US electoral system and delegitimise Biden’s victory by promoting false claims of widespread voter fraud.

Attempts to thwart certification of vote tallies have failed thus far in courts in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Arizona.

US District Judge Matthew Brann, in dismissing the Pennsylvania lawsuit on Sunday, compared the Trump team’s arguments claiming voter fraud to a ‘‘Frankenstein’s monster’’ that was ‘‘haphazardly stitched together’’.

Trump’s campaign yesterday appealed part of Brann’s ruling that clears the way for Pennsylvania to certify Biden as the winner of the election.

For Trump to have any hope of overturning the election, he needs to reverse the outcome in Pennsylvania, which is expected to certify its election results today. — Reuters