BY JACOB JARVIS, Newsweek
President Donald Trump has shared a link to an article that refers to “crimes of the Deep State” and claims “treasonous swamp rats” are trying to steal the 2020 election.
The article, shared by the president amid a flurry of election-linked retweets as he continues to claim the result was tainted by fraud, refers to attorney Sidney Powell’s “Release the Kraken” comments at a recent Trump campaign press conference.
It suggests the Kraken is actually a “cyber warfare program” that tracks and “aquires [sic] evidence of nefarious activities and crimes committed by the Deep State.” It adds that this has allowed Trump, alongside “loyal patriots” in the military and Space Command, to have gathered the evidence they need to prove his claims of fraud.
The article goes on to describe the 2020 election as an attempt to overthrow the U.S. government. It claims there are people in the CIA, FBI and Department of Justice trying to steal the election, labeling them “treasonous swamp rats.”
The article’s headline reads: “Sidney Powell’s ‘Kraken’ is DoD cyber warfare program! We are at war!”
Although the article mentions Powell, the Trump campaign has recently distanced itself from her and insisted she was not a part of its legal team.
Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani said the legal team split with Powell because they were pursuing “different theories” in regard to voter fraud.
After this, Powell released a statement saying she was independently looking into election fraud. She has since shared a news story on her Twitter feed suggesting she is planning to file a lawsuit in Georgia this week.
Newsweek has contacted the White House and the Trump campaign, as well as the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense, for comment. Powell has also been contacted for comment.
Since the election, Trump’s team has launched a number of lawsuits alleging irregularities, but has so far failed to provide evidence for the claims of widespread fraud.
Television networks called the election for Joe Biden and the Associated Press has declared him the winner with 306 Electoral College votes to Trump’s 232. In addition, states have begun to certify results. However, Trump has bemoaned the actions of “lamestream media.”
