Sidney Katherine Powell was born in 1955 in Durham, North Carolina, and grew up in Raleigh. She knew from an early age that she wanted to be a lawyer. Powell graduated from Needham Broughton High School and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts. At the age of 19, she was accepted into the University of North Carolina School of Law, graduating in 1978 with a Juris Doctor degree. ## Career Powell began her legal career as one of the youngest federal prosecutors in the U.S. She served as an assistant United States attorney for various districts and was appointed Appellate Section Chief for the Western District of Texas and then the Northern District of Texas. In 1993, she established her own law firm in Dallas, Texas. ### Notable Cases and Involvement - **Assassination of Judge John H. Wood:** Powell was one of the prosecutors in the 1979 trial of Jimmy Chagra, who was accused in the assassination of a federal judge. - **Enron Scandal:** In the 2000s, Powell represented firms and executives involved in the [Enron scandal](https://foundations.doctorparadox.net/Companies+and+Orgs/Enron). - **Michael Flynn:** Powell served as the lead attorney for retired lieutenant general [Mike Flynn](https://foundations.doctorparadox.net/People/Mike+Flynn) in United States v. Flynn. - **2020 Presidential Election:** Powell joined then-President [[Donald Trump]]'s legal team in an attempt to overturn Joe Biden's victory in the [2020 presidential election](https://doctorparadox.net/category/politics/2020-election/). She filed several lawsuits and promoted [conspiracy theories](https://doctorparadox.net/why-do-people-believe-conspiracy-theories/) related to election fraud. ## Controversies Powell has been associated with various conspiracy theories, including those related to the [QAnon movement](https://doctorparadox.net/dictionaries/what-is-qanon/). She alleged a [secret global cabal](https://doctorparadox.net/dictionaries/authoritarianism/global-cabal/) involving various entities rigged the 2020 presidential election. Powell's claims led to defamation lawsuits by election technology companies Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic. In August 2021, a Michigan federal judge sanctioned Powell and other pro-Trump lawyers for filing baseless and frivolous lawsuits to undermine public confidence in the democratic process. In February 2023, a Texas judge dismissed a petition alleging Powell had violated legal ethics rules. ## Summary Sidney Powell is an American attorney and former federal prosecutor known for her involvement in high-profile cases and controversies. Her career has been marked by associations with conspiracy theories and contentious legal battles.