Sidney Powell | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 1, 1955 Durham, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Education | University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (BA, JD) |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Criminal charges | Felonies:
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| Criminal penalty |
|
| Criminal status | Pleaded guilty to misdemeanors: 6 counts: conspiracy to commit intentional interference with the performance of election duties |
| Website | sidneypowell |
Sidney Katherine Powell (born May 1, 1955) is an American attorney, former federal prosecutor, and conspiracy theorist who attempted to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election. In August 2023, she was indicted along with Donald Trump and eighteen others in the Georgia election case for their efforts to subvert the election outcome in Georgia and other key states lost by Trump. In October 2023, she pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor counts of conspiring to intentionally interfere with the performance of election duties. She was sentenced to six years of probation and agreed to testify against the other defendants.
Prior to her political involvement, Powell served as an assistant United States attorney in the Western District of Texas. She was best known for prosecuting high-profile drug smuggler Jimmy Chagra and, as private counsel, defending Merrill Lynch executives in proceedings related to the Enron scandal.
Later in her career, Powell began promoting conspiracy theories. Powell defended retired lieutenant general Michael Flynn in United States v. Flynn, claiming that he was framed by a covert "deep state" operation, and has promoted personalities and slogans associated with QAnon. After the 2020 election, she claimed that there had been a global conspiracy to tamper with voting machines, despite lacking evidence. After she accused the election technology companies Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic of engaging in a conspiracy to rig the election, both companies sued her for defamation.
In 2020, Powell joined the legal team of then-President Trump in an attempt to overturn Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election. Powell continued filing lawsuits independently and ultimately lost four federal lawsuits in Michigan, Georgia, Arizona, and Wisconsin. In August 2021, Michigan federal judge Linda Vivienne Parker formally sanctioned Powell and eight other pro-Trump lawyers for their frivolous suit seeking to overturn Trump's election loss. The attorneys were ordered repay the legal expenses incurred by the defense and recommended for disbarment. The State Bar of Texas' Texas Commission for Lawyer Discipline brought a disciplinary action against Powell, alleging that she violated the rules of professional conduct governing lawyers; that proceeding is pending.