Sidney Powell sues Defense Department over vaccine mandate

Former Trump attorney Sidney Powell announced Wednesday that she is suing the Defense Department in regards to their vaccine mandate.

According to The Hill, Powell is representing the Texas-based group “Defending the Republic” in a lawsuit against Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in regards to the military’s mandatory vaccination requirements.

The lawsuit represents 16 active service members and outlines their “right to refuse” the vaccine.

“Through the filing of this lawsuit, we make clear that these service members — those who serve their country with honor — are not the property of the U.S. government, and the Constitution does not allow them to be treated as such,” the group said on its website.

In August, Austin ordered that all military and civilian members of the Defense Department be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, following the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine.

Austin did not set a specific deadline for people to get vaccinated. Instead, he left it up to each branch of the military. Each branch has set deadlines sometime prior to the end of the year.

In the most recent version of the complaint, the plaintiffs argue that the Defense Department’s mandate is unconstitutional because it is “forcing Plaintiffs to choose between violation of their constitutional rights or facing life-altering punishments.”

Besides seeking to overturn the vaccine mandate, the lawsuit also seeks to have the FDA’s approval of Pfizer’s vaccine ruled unconstitutional.