2020 Election: Predictions, Results and Reactions

[N.E. Brigand]

The Washington Post reports that "forensic experts directed by Trump-allied lawyers copied sensitive data from election systems in Georgia as part of a multistate effort to access voting equipment that was broader and more organized than was previously known." This has come to light because of defamation lawsuits filed by the Dominion voting machine company against Trump lawyer Sidney Powell and others.

[Dave_LF]

I'd give the AP props for their photo choice, but he always kinda looks like that

You mean, like he's holding onto jail bars?

Either that or about to really dig in to a big wedge of cheese. Hopefully he enjoys it, because whatever happens, his future looks like it will involve less cheddar.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

An interesting passage in a filing today by the DoJ in Peter Navarro's case, opposing his nutsy-cuckoo motion for additional discovery.

the Defendant’s continuing claims about his arrest are based on a misrepresentation of the facts and his posture toward the Government at the time of his arrest. He claims that it was unprecedented and unusual that he was not permitted to self-report. ECF No. 31 at 28. Contrary to the Defendant’s claims, however, it is not law enforcement’s normal practice to ask combative, unrepresented subjects to self-surrender. At the time he was indicted and arrested, the Defendant was not represented. And only a few days before, when the case agents attempted to interview him and serve him with a subpoena at his residence, the Defendant at first refused to open the door and then, when he did, told the agents to “get the f*** out of here.”6 The Defendant also has an extensive history of seeking out news coverage. To avoid a media circus, therefore, the arresting agents encountered the Defendant in a discrete location on the jet-bridge at the airport, removed him to the tarmac, and took him to be booked from there—all out of sight of the public. Moreover, the “strip search” and “leg irons” of which the Defendant repeatedly complains is, to the Government’s understanding, the U.S. Marshal’s standard procedure for all arrestees—whether they self-surrender or not. The Defendant seeks to have this Court attribute discriminatory intent to an arrest operation aimed at safely and efficiently handling an unrepresented, unpredictable subject without a media frenzy. His claims are meritless.

6 This interaction was recorded and produced in discovery to the Defendant on June 14, 2022. The Government can provide it to the Court if needed

[N.E. Brigand]

This is an interesting effort at illustrating Donald Trump's various efforts to illegally stop Joe Biden from becoming President:

[N.E. Brigand]

Former Vice President Mike Pence today issued a statement in which he said that if the January 6th Committee invited him to testify, he would consider doing so, but because there are "three co-equal branches of government ... I’d have to reflect on the unique role I was serving in as Vice President. It would be unprecedented in history for a Vice President to be summoned to testify on Capitol Hill."

As noted here, that's not correct. Four sitting Presidents (George Washington in 1789, Abraham Lincoln in 1862, Woodrow Wilson in 1919, and Gerald Ford in 1974), one sitting Vice President (Schuyler Colfax in 1873), and four former Presidents (Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Harry Truman, and Gerald Ford) have testified before Congress.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Hopefully you'll get a chance to set him straight!

[N.E. Brigand]

Yesterday Florida's governor, Ron DeSantis, announced that 20 people had been charged with voting illegally in 2020. Few details were given, but these people appear to have been ex-felons who were exempt from the state's constitutional amendment that restored voting rights to most former criminals. I don't think that 20 people out of 11 million who voted in Florida is statistically significant, and who knows how these cases will turn out, but I thought it worth mentioning.

[N.E. Brigand]

Yesterday Florida's governor, Ron DeSantis, announced that 20 people had been charged with voting illegally in 2020. Few details were given, but these people appear to have been ex-felons who were exempt from the state's constitutional amendment that restored voting rights to most former criminals. I don't think that 20 people out of 11 million who voted in Florida is statistically significant, and who knows how these cases will turn out, but I thought it worth mentioning.

The Miami Herald has a new story about this matter:

"Five of those arrested Thursday on voter fraud charges told the Herald/Times they believed they were able to vote and had faced no issue registering. They said they would not have voted had they known their previous convictions made them ineligible."

[Sunsilver]

Ousted Arizona Republican, Rusty Bowers, speaks his mind:

“The constitution is hanging by a thread,” he told me. “The funny thing is, I always thought it would be the other guys. And it’s my side. That just rips at my heart: that we would be the people who would surrender the constitution in order to win an election. That just blows my mind.”

When he failed to yield to Trump's demands to overturn the election results, angry protesters gathered outside his home:

As January 6 approached, and the cries of stolen election reached fever pitch, the attacks on Bowers became personal. A “Trump train” of angry fanatics blaring their horns in pickup trucks festooned with Maga flags turned up at his home in Mesa, some bearing digital boards proclaiming him to be a pedophile.

To protect his family, he would step outside the house and confront the protesters. One man had three bars on his chest, signalling he was a member of the far-right militia group the Three Percenters. The man was screaming obscenities and carrying a pistol. “I had to get as close to him as I could to defend myself if he went for the gun.”

"I never had the thought of giving up. No way. I don’t like bullies."

The worst of it was that during several of these menacing protests, his daughter Kacey was inside the house mortally ill in bed with liver failure. “She would say, ‘What are they doing out there?’ She was emotional. She told me, ‘I’m going to die.’ I said, ‘Honey, you’re not going to die.’ So she had feelings, we were trying to keep her positive.”

Kacey Bowers did die, on 28 January, three weeks after the insurrection at the US Capitol.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... d4r513q8gc

[N.E. Brigand]

Terrible.

Meanwhile the Washington Post has a new report titled "Files copied from voting systems were shared with Trump supporters, election deniers" following up on news from Georgia last week that a computer forensics company, apparently at the direction of Trump's "Kraken" attorney Sidney Powell, got access to sensitive voting machine files, and, we now learn, they "placed the files on a server, where company records show they were downloaded dozens of times. Among the downloaders were accounts associated with a Texas meteorologist who has appeared on Sean Hannity’s radio show; a podcaster who suggested political enemies should be executed; a former pro surfer who pushed disproven theories that the 2020 election was manipulated; and a self-described former 'seduction and pickup coach' who claims to also have been a hacker."

[N.E. Brigand]

For a while, it had looked like this was going to be a relatively quiet news day, but here are two more tidbits to round it out:

1. Donald Trump's spokesperson filed an appeal to a June decision that gave the January 6th Committee access to some of his communications. It's far too late for him to undo that, so it's understood that he's preemptively trying to prevent them from seeing anything further.

2. CNN reports that the a new grand jury subpoena was issued to the National Archives last week for materials pertaining to the Trump White House's actions surrounding January 6th. This is different from the subpoena that was reported last week (but was issued in May).

[N.E. Brigand]

The right wing spin machine is not disputing* that Trump knew he lost the election and his claims had no legitimacy (even though he took millions of dollars from his supporters to "fight the lie")* that he was prepared to lead an armed mob to disrupt the peaceful and legitimate transfer of power, and was only concerned that he was not going to be hurt* that it's increasingly provable that the Vice President was in imminent danger of being murdered, and so were some SenatorsAnd on and on.

I don't know what 'right wing spin machine' you're talking about, but everything you said above would be considered ludicrous in actual right wing circles. ...

Turning to the FBI, their classic M.O. for 'thwarting' terrorist plots (find a hapless muslim, radicalize him, suggest a terrorist plot, fund the plot, then go arrest him when he tries to carry it out (The Hill), was used in the fake Whitmer kidnapping. It's interesting to note that the FBI agent in charge of that failed and humiliating operation was promoted to the Washington field office shortly afterwards (revolver), before the plot was revealed to be a sting operation and the defendants acquitted at trial. He would thus have been in charge of operations at the Capitol on Jan.6. Of course, the FBI refused to say how many operatives they had at the Capitol that day, or if any of them perpetrated acts of violence. (FBI)

Emphasis mine.

Since this was the most recent post to mention the 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, let me note here that following two days of deliberation, the two ringleaders of that plot, Adam Fox and Barry Croft, were convicted today in federal court of conspiring to kidnap Whitmer and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction, and Croft was additionally convicted of possessing an unregistered destructive device. They likely face many years in prison.

This was a retrial after a jury four months ago hung on the charges against Fox and Croft and acquitted two others then alleged to have been part of the plot. Two other plotters, Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks, previously pled guilty to kidnapping conspiracy charges and testified in this trial. Another ten members of the group are facing state charges.

[N.E. Brigand]

2. CNN reports that the a new grand jury subpoena was issued to the National Archives last week for materials pertaining to the Trump White House's actions surrounding January 6th. This is different from the subpoena that was reported last week (but was issued in May).

Marcy Wheeler points out that, while there may be several reasons for this latest (known) subpoena to the National Archives, which seems to have been a more exhaustive version of the subpoena issued in May, it may be an accidental product of Donald Trump's possible violations of the Espionage Act: on Aug. 16, the day before the subpoena was issued, conservative newsman Paul Sperry reported that sources close to Donald Trump said "the former president was reluctant to furnish presidential records to the National Archives after he found out partisan Democrat political appointees there were releasing thousands of his White House documents to the January 6th Committee".

If Trump were deliberately withholding material from the Archives in order to prevent the January 6th Committee from completing its investigation, that could be the crime of obstruction and thus cause for Dept. of Justice to examine what was and wasn't in the Archives without having to seek any further privilege waivers from the White House or fight more court battles with Trump: an argument to which Wheeler regularly returns is that DOJ let Congress -- which as a co-equal branch of government has greater ability (outside of explicitly criminal investigations) to overcome executive branch privilege claims -- do the heavy lifting in that regard. (Still, the timing could just be a coincidence.)

[N.E. Brigand]

News broke today of four different arrests in the January 6th investigation.

A picture of Ian Horvath of Indiana was posted by the FBI as showing a person of interest in the months following the insurrection. He was identified by someone to the FBI in August 2021, and then saw himself pictured on the FBI website last September 2021 and contacted the FBI. Per the statement on DOJ's website, Horvath attended Trump's rally, arrived at the Capitol to find the West doors had been breached, entered the building and walked around for more than a half-hour, watched from inside as a large crowd poured into the Rotunda, stepped outside and waved more people in, saying, "All are welcome," before eventually leaving the grounds. He was arrested last week for trespassing in a restricted area and disorderly conduct. The statement notes that he recorded much of his interactions. I wonder if the FBI is trying to get that video, which would show how one breach became a flood.

Joseph and Daniel Leyden, brothers from Illinois, were arrested this week for assaulting police officers, as well as obstructing law enforcement activities, trespassing in a restricted area, and disorderly conduct. The Leyden's pictures had also been posted on the FBI's website early in 2021, and they were identified last December. Per the Dept. of Justice statement, video shows that Daniel Leyden joined other rioters in hoisting a barricade and using it to attack two Capitol Police officers, one of whom was knocked unconscious. Subsequent video footage then shows Joseph Leyden, wearing a Trump 2020 sweatshirt, lunging at and pushing a Metropolitan Police officer.

Finally, an Alabama man named Kaleb Dillard had been identified in two separate tips to the FBI just days after the insurrection by people who said they knew him as a fellow congregant in a Virginia church -- and that Dillard had told one of them tipsters that he went to the Capitol "to strike fear into the politicians." The FBI got a warrant to search Dillard's cell phone records six months ago, but he was only arrested this week. The statement posted by the Dept. of Justice claims that just after he entered the Capitol, video shows that he grabbed a Capitol Police officer from behind and threw him to the ground. Dillard was arrested for assaulting a police officer, obstructing law enforcement, trespassing in a restricted area, and disorderly conduct. Here's video of Dillard's (allegedly) most egregious act:



This footage has been widely shared since January 2021. It's interesting that the FBI didn't arrest him before now. (Other footage cited by that reporter seems to show Dillard outside the Capitol earlier in the day trying to break one of the windows -- but that's not mentioned in the complaint.)

- - - - - - - - - -
Also, the Washington Post reports that January 6th Committee staff flew to Copenhagen last week to view footage of Roger Stone on January 6th.

And NBC reports that the Committee today interviewed Robert O'Brien, who was the National Security Adviser in the Trump administration from 2019 to 2021 (succeeding John Bolton in that role).

Finally, in Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis, fighting to get Governor Brian Kemp to testify to a grand jury this month in her investigation into Donald Trump's efforts to interfere in the 2020 election, filed a response to Kemp's motion for delay in which that his testimony would be kept "secure" until after this year's election in November.

[N.E. Brigand]

Three previously charged Jan. 6th defendants were convicted this week in "stipulated trials": that's basically a guilty plea but with the option to appeal. All three men -- Donald Judd of Dallas, Texas; Robert Morss of State College, Pennsylvania; and Geoffrey Sills of Mechanicsville, Virginia -- agreed that the government could prove they assaulted police officers during the insurrection, but they're reserving their right to contest charges that their actions were meant to obstruct an official proceeding. (More than a dozen D.C. federal judges have upheld that obstruction charge in Jan. 6th cases, but one judge has not, and his ruling is being appealed. If the result goes against the government, these men could have grounds to appeal in their own cases.)

[N.E. Brigand]

Five members of a militia called the "B Squad" have been charged for their actions on January 6th. The group's leader unsuccessfully ran for Congress in Florida as a Republican earlier this year.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

[N.E. Brigand]

On the Dept. of Justice website:

"Florida Residents Plead Guilty To Conspiracy To Commit Interstate Transportation Of Stolen Property. Pleas Follow Filing of Criminal Information Alleging Defendants Stole Property Belonging to Immediate Family Member of a Then-Former Government Official." Nowhere at that link will you find the names Trump or Biden, but:

Here's what happened. Joe Biden's daughter Ashley kept a diary while she was in rehab. In the spring of 2020, she was rooming at a home in Florida. She moved out in June but got permission to store some of her personal items there, including that diary and a flash drive with family photos. Later that month, a woman named Aimee Harris stayed at the house, discovered Ashley Biden's things, and stole some of them. In August, she reached out to a man named Robert Kurlander, and they plotted to sell Biden's belongings. Specifically they hoped to make a lot of money selling the diary. In September, Harris and Kurlander attended a Trump fundraiser in Florida and met someone who works for the Trump campaign who (surprisingly!) had the presence of mind to tell them a few days later that the campaign didn't want the Biden materials and that they should give it to the FBI. That said, the Criminal Information doesn't quote the Trump campaign representative but instead quotes Kurlander telling Harris that, "There is no way that [Trump] can use this. It has to be done a different way". Something about that phrasing seems off to me.

Later that same day, Kurlander reached out to Project Veritas, the right-wing media outlet best known for some shady sting operations (like trying to lure a reporter to a boat laden with sex toys) -- which I'll call "PV" for the rest of this post. (Did Kurlander know on his own to reach out to PV?) PV arranged for Kurlander to send photographs of some of the stolen items to them using an encrypted app, and after reviewing those, PV "offered to pay for airfare, hotel, and car service for Harris and Kurlander to transport the property from Florida to New York City." They did so and met with PV executives there, during which time Harris described how she came to possess Biden's items -- the Information says that this conversation "confirmed for Kurlander that Harris had stolen [Ashley Biden's] property -- and that PV "wanted Harris and Kurlander to provide more of [Biden's] property to [PV], in part as a means of authenticating the Journal, and that the value of the items previously provided by Harris and Kurlander ... would increase if additional items were obtained." PV agreed to pay $10,000.

Kurlander and Harris returned to Florida, where they negotiated with PV as to how much more they should be paid to obtain additional material. They then stole more of Ashley Biden's property, and were met in Florida a few days later by a PV employee who shipped that stolen material to New York. PV then made further payments, totalling $20,000 each to Harris and Kurlander.

The maximum possible sentence for this crime is five years' imprisonment. By virtue of having pleaded guilty, Harris and Kurlander will presumably be sentenced to less than that. They also have to forfeit $20,000 each. Kurlander has agreed to cooperate with the government. PV may be in some trouble here.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Mark Meadows ordered to testify in Fulton County probe of Trump election overturn efforts

[N.E. Brigand]

Howard Richardson, age 72, of Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to 46 months in prison for his actions on January 6th. Richardson, who said he was at the Capitol because he believed Donald Trump's lies about election fraud, had pleaded guilty to resisting arrest and assault. During the insurrection, Richardson was part of a mob who were pushing a battering ram through a barricade, and he swung a metal flagpole at a police officer. The maximum possible sentence was 8 years. The government asked for the 46 months to which judge sentenced Richardson. She said she didn't opt for less in part because he lied in police interviews before finally admitting to his crimes.