The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and
do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall
do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall
She was demeaned and ridiculed as a "#MAGA lawyer" by the smart set at Politico.
She was second-guessed as a "screw-up" by legal blogs.
She was written off for "crackpot conspiracy theories" by former intelligence officials doing their best to protect their friends in the permanent bureaucracy.
Nevertheless, Sidney Powell persisted.
In an honest universe, Ms. Powell, the courageous attorney who engineered a miraculous defense of Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn that led to the Justice Department withdrawing criminal charges against President Trump's former National Security Adviser, would be hailed as a political and cultural hero. This solitary woman just faced down the epitome of the "old boys network" and emerged victorious. Is there any better symbol of the patriarchy than Robert Mueller's Special Counsel team, which was populated by a bunch of "old white guys" on a five to one ratio to the three women selected for the task of investigating President Trump?
As Gen. Flynn was facing sentencing for his guilty plea that was forced upon him by the strong-arm tactics of Mueller and the disgraced FBI officials on the 7th floor of the J. Edgar Hoover building, Judge Emmit Sullivan accused the 33-year veteran of the United States Army of "selling out your country."Sullivan indicated that he was not inclined to let Flynn off without serving time, as his lawyers had promised.
Flynn began to rethink the effectiveness of his multi-million-dollar defense, whose firm included former Obama Attorney General Eric Holder. Enter Sidney Powell, who took the reigns of the case in June 2019.
As Flynn's new counsel, Powell inherited a client who had pled guilty to Mueller's prosecutors, articulated that guilty plea in open court, and was merely awaiting the inevitable sentencing that could lead to a humiliating jail sentence.
Powell examined the case and advised on a radical Hail Mary defense: Withdraw your plea and fight these corrupt bastards. Flynn, drawing on his military career and training, trusted in Powell's leadership and charged up that hill.
This was the action of a man confident in his innocence and the woman who would champion his case.
Unlike his sanctimonious persecutors, Flynn had not uttered a single word in his own defense. No public statements, no exclusive interviews, not even a cryptic tweet. He empowered Sidney Powell to do that on his behalf. And, boy, did she ever.
Soon the world would learn what an empowered, strong, independent woman could do in the face of impossible odds. As powerful and well-connected men lined up against her and fed insults to their friends in the media to undermine her, she persisted. She kept her focus on the law and the rights of her client.
She knew the truth was being hidden by the powerful men in the FBI who were hell-bent on circling the wagons to protect their fiefdom. She knew the truth was being withheld by the rich and influential D.C. lawyers at Covington and Burling, Flynn's former defense team.
Nevertheless, Sidney Powell persisted.
If her goal was to protect Hillary Clinton, she'd be celebrated on late-night shows.
If her goal was to secure abortion rights, they'd name a Girl Scout cookie after her.
If her goal was to bring down the presidency of Donald Trump, she'd be considered as a future senator or even running mate for Joe Biden.
But, no. Her goal was to do her duties as an officer of the court and reveal the truth to aid her client. And in the warped, upside-down world of politics, media, and culture we find ourselves in, that is not worthy of praise by our moral superiors in the elite halls of Washington, D.C., Manhattan and Hollywood.
No matter. Sidney Powell will be celebrated by the men and women she cares most about. Her client, his family, and those of us who still care about justice when it comes to the power wielded by the federal government and the Department of Justice.
And those of us who see the heroic victory for what it truly is have daughters. And we will let our daughters know about what a strong woman can do for our country when facing seemingly insurmountable odds.
Our nation will soon have many more "Sidney Powells" getting their law degrees and focusing their energies on being a strong, willful and righteous woman fighting for our nation and the ideals it was built upon.