GA - Former President Donald Trump indicted, 10 counts in 2020 election interference, violation of RICO Act, 14 Aug 2023

[IzzyBlanche]

So strange to me that the integrity of voting machines has been questioned only in places that Trump lost.

Apparently they function perfectly in places that he won.

 

[vls12345]

In Georgia, when you use a touch screen to vote, you get a printed out paper that shows all the choices you make. You then look over it to ensure it's correct and then submit it. (You put the physical paper into a scanner after you review it.)

"The paper-ballot system protects Georgia against computer hackers and delivers reliable election results which can be audited using paper ballots.

The machines do not connect to the internet, which limits cybersecurity risks. They also create an auditable paper-ballot, with other enhanced review capabilities for the public.

Dominion’s product security protocols meet or exceed U.S. Election Assistance Commission Voluntary Voting System Requirements.

The paper-ballot system uses encryption, multi-factor authentication and role-based access controls."

From:

Elections FAQ | Georgia Secretary of State

Frequently Asked Questions related to Elections

sos.ga.gov

I can also vouch for the fact that you get a physical, printed copy of your choices to review and submit because I am a Georgia voter.

 

[vls12345]

So strange to me that the integrity of voting machines has been questioned only in places that Trump lost.

Apparently they function perfectly in places that he won.

Yes! Thank you!

 

[Auntie Cipation]

That second report written by MITRE was paid for by Dominion. Of course, they are going to say the system was safe. Of course, Raffensperger's office is going to support it because his office purchased the Dominion system for $107 million of taxpayer money ahead of the 2020 election.

Here's something I don't get. The assumption that everyone is corrupt and blindly loyal to their party/candidate/funder etc.

I'm not naïve; I know corruption happens and in all parts of the political sphere plus a million places in the nonpolitical realm.

But the assumption that the default attitude of all/most judges, for example, is to be corrupt -- blindly loyal to their party (or their funders), regardless of the actual facts of a case -- strikes me as a "doth protest too much" suspicion wielded by those who are themselves willing to be corrupt, thus they assume the same is true for everyone else.

Trump declares "I won, by a lot."

I say "How do you know that?"

We know who wins an election by the results of XYZ vote tabulation processes.

If something goes wrong and the vote tabulation process is inaccurate, and it goes unnoticed, then no one knows and the inaccurate result becomes the official result.

If something goes wrong and the vote tabulation process is inaccurate and it does get noticed, the act of it getting noticed reveals EVIDENCE, and that evidence is used, in the legal justice system if necessary, to correct the inaccurate result and/or possibly adjudicate.

But when someone decides to CLAIM the result is inaccurate without the existence of any evidence, they are in a jam. IMO our legal justice system requires evidence, or compelling rational logic, or both.

Claiming he won, with no evidence, doesn't change the result in our legal system.

Claiming he HAS evidence and then, when asked for that evidence, producing only the repeated claim that he "obviously" won, doesn't change the result in our legal system.

MOO

 

[IzzyBlanche]

It seems to me as if we've reached a point at which certain segments of the population are willing to believe anything DJT and his minions say, even if there is no evidence to support it. Or if there is evidence that contradicts it.

It's very scary to me.

Say, hypothetically, that irrefutable proof came out that both Bill Clinton (as has been alleged) and DJT (as has also been alleged) participated in Jeffrey Epstein's despicable criminals acts.

Most people including me would say, shoot them both straight into the sun.

But I fear that there is a substantial number of people who will never, ever, ever concede that DJT has done something wrong despite irrefutable proof that he did, and will continue to support him.

Terrifying.

All MOO of course.

 

[Friday Fan]

Elections go through test runs before the very first vote is cast.
Your vote is sacred and taken very seriously.

 

[BritsKate]

Fox settled. A settlement isn't a win. It also took place before the cyber security expert's 2018 evaluation was unsealed earlier this summer.

Halderman's evaluation was specific to the Georgia federal lawsuit but if the systems are all the same, I would hope that all states that use Dominion should be very concerned.
JMO

Expert report fuels election doubts as Georgia waits to update voting software

A newly unsealed expert report arguing that Georgia’s Dominion voting machines are vulnerable to hacking is fueling election doubts in Georgia.

www.nbcnews.com

Oh I'd argue a rare summary judgement was very much a win in Dominion's favor and that's likely one of the main reasons Fox did settle. Every escape route except actual malice was blocked by the judge. Given the 1st amendment and the Sullivan ruling defamation cases aren't easy to get to trial stage much less settlement. The writing was on the wall for Fox - they very likely would have lost - would have been unable to mitigate damage caused through the trial to their brand - and cost them even more. JMO

And not directed towards you but rather the general discussion upthread...

One of my biggest frustrations where criminal defendant Trump is concerned (and I believe Dominion/Smartmatic; NY business cases; E Jean Carroll's case are all relevant) is that these aren't fly by night indictments/civil suits. Many of us have been here a long time - have had an avid interest in true crime for years if not decades - and we've seen plenty of questionable, weak cases. The cases against Trump et al are NOT that. They are dead to rights kinda cases instead. Which makes debating such cases a bit aggravating at times. You have to suspend reality itself to believe this is all a massive everybody's out to get Trump conspiracy. Again, JMO

 

[Niner]

Most, if not all, of those indicted in this particular case probably have their attorneys discussing bond options with the DA. If bond is approved ahead of time, the process moves faster. Turn yourself in, go through mug shots, fingerprinting, etc... bond out, and you're done. Normally, it can take hours, especially with a jail and county that big. Since the sheriff is having to work with Secret Service and such, it will probably be a faster process, at least for Trump. Most defendants that can't bond out end up waiting in a cell until they can see the judge, which can take days sometimes.
At least I think that's how it works - don't quote me on this lol.
This whole situation is unprecedented, so it's interesting to see how Fulton County handles it.
IMO

I know that the arraignment for ALL is on 9/5/23.

Here's my updated calendar for this case:

GA - Violations of Georgia election laws. 19 defendants.
Friday, 8/25/23 – Surrender date by 12 noon.
Monday, 8/28/23 – Judge to hear motion (State to Fed court) re Meadows & others.
Tuesday, 9/5/23 – Arraignment for all.
Monday, 3/4/24 – Proposed trial date.

 

[SouthAussie]

Here's something I don't get. The assumption that everyone is corrupt and blindly loyal to their party/candidate/funder etc.

I'm not naïve; I know corruption happens and in all parts of the political sphere plus a million places in the nonpolitical realm.

But the assumption that the default attitude of all/most judges, for example, is to be corrupt -- blindly loyal to their party (or their funders), regardless of the actual facts of a case -- strikes me as a "doth protest too much" suspicion wielded by those who are themselves willing to be corrupt, thus they assume the same is true for everyone else.

Trump declares "I won, by a lot."

I say "How do you know that?"

We know who wins an election by the results of XYZ vote tabulation processes.

If something goes wrong and the vote tabulation process is inaccurate, and it goes unnoticed, then no one knows and the inaccurate result becomes the official result.

If something goes wrong and the vote tabulation process is inaccurate and it does get noticed, the act of it getting noticed reveals EVIDENCE, and that evidence is used, in the legal justice system if necessary, to correct the inaccurate result and/or possibly adjudicate.

But when someone decides to CLAIM the result is inaccurate without the existence of any evidence, they are in a jam. IMO our legal justice system requires evidence, or compelling rational logic, or both.

Claiming he won, with no evidence, doesn't change the result in our legal system.

Claiming he HAS evidence and then, when asked for that evidence, producing only the repeated claim that he "obviously" won, doesn't change the result in our legal system.

MOO

Not to mention, publicly claiming he won while privately admitting he lost.


… testimony from Alyssa Farah, a former White House aide, who said that a week after the election was called in favor of Biden, Trump was watching Biden on the television in the Oval Office, and said: “‘Can you believe I lost to this effing guy?’”

… testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, a top aide to former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows, she shared that Trump told Meadows: “I don’t want people to know we lost, Mark. This is embarrassing. Figure it out.”

Trump privately admitted he lost 2020 election, top aides testify

Alyssa Farah and Cassidy Hutchinson tell January 6 panel former president acknowledged he had been defeated by Joe Biden

www.theguardian.com

 

[Inthedetails]

I find it an awful shame that a reputable company has been trashed just because DT lost the election.

Same for two ladies named Ruby and Shaye who were trashed mercilessly, all because DT lost the election.

jmopinion

 

[Inthedetails]

She literally unlocked the doors and let those people in, and they scanned and downloaded to their hearts content. And Trump WON Coffee County - bigly - but I think that they focused there because Latham gave them an open invitation.
IMO.

I think they wanted the insides of those machines and had to pick a Trump-friendly place to get access.

Speculation only.

jmo

 

[weepingangel]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/08/18/fbi-joins-investigation-threats-grand-jurors-trump-georgia-case

 

[Leilei]

I think they wanted the insides of those machines and had to pick a Trump-friendly place to get access.

Speculation only.

jmo

Totally agree. Coffee County is a very small county here, so the risk of anyone noticing something unusual is not as high as if it were in one of the larger, metro ATL counties.
They all knew what they were doing was illegal, IMO.
Plus, if they are going to claim ignorance of the law, that isn't a defense.

 

[Leilei]

I know that the arraignment for ALL is on 9/5/23.

Here's my updated calendar for this case:

GA - Violations of Georgia election laws. 19 defendants.
Friday, 8/25/23 – Surrender date by 12 noon.
Monday, 8/28/23 – Judge to hear motion (State to Fed court) re Meadows & others.
Tuesday, 9/5/23 – Arraignment for all.
Monday, 3/4/24 – Proposed trial date.

I wonder if they are all going to waive arraignment?

 

[Inthedetails]

I wonder if they are all going to waive arraignment?

Does waiving arraignment mean they don't have to appear in person? Does it mean they accept the arrest - could use some help learning this, tia.

jmo

 

[Sillybilly]

The topic of this thread is the indictment, not endless discussion about Raspberger and the voting machines. Please move on from that ongoing, circular debate.

Thanks !!

 

[Leilei]

Does waiving arraignment mean they don't have to appear in person? Does it mean they accept the arrest - could use some help learning this, tia.

jmo

Their attorneys would file all of the motions and enter the plea prior to the court date, so, no, they wouldn't have to appear.
IMO

 

[waldojabba]

From the link I posted earlier. It's long but detailed and well sourced. Somehow I don't think Latham was just an innocent little retired schoolteacher.

Latham would later admit under oath that she visited D.C. for an unspecified period sometime in December. But she did not confirm the reason she gave at the time. In her deposition, rather, she claimed that she traveled to the capital city because she had been invited to go on a “tour” by a woman named Juliana Thompson, because Latham hadn’t been able to go the previous year.

“We [got] to see the Christmas trees, and I got to go to the Bible Museum,” she explained.

When asked if she met with anyone who was not with the D.C. tour group, Latham replied, “I’m going to plead the Fifth on that.”

But if Latham was in D.C. only to tour the Museum of the Bible and see Christmas trees, why did she tell Marks that she was “about to meet with IT guys”?

And Latham did admit in her deposition that she stayed at the Willard Hotel during her trip.

“That’s where I slept,” she said.

If the Willard Hotel rings a Jan. 6 bell, that’s because it served as the “command center” for the legal arm of the Trump campaign led by Giuliani in this period of time.

What the Heck Happened in Coffee County, Georgia?

A detailed look back at the computer intrusion that features prominently in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s election interference indictment

www.lawfaremedia.org

Wow - and they have all this on video tape !

These people should not be shown any mercy or plea bargains IMO - access allowed to copy the voting software ? Hello? How could anyone possibly think this is okay.
DT and his abhorrent behavior and demeanor have seemingly brought out qualities in otherwise good people that are shocking to me. And on a pretty grand scale. I should not be shocked as it's been everyday for years that this "mobster" type stuff occurs - but I still get outraged
I now see why Kemp does not want to get the patch for the voting systems before the 2024 election, its not budget restrictions lol - his party has the software and if they can have their IT geeks identify any vulnerabilites - well you know they will meddle !
ALL JMO
BBM below

"Video surveillance detailed in the litigation shows what happens next: Over the course of several hours, the forensics team handles, scans, and copies the state’s most sensitive voting software and equipment. All of this takes place without authorization from any court of law. The elections board will later claim it did not authorize the entry or copying, which the Georgia secretary of state’s office has referred to as “unauthorized access to the equipment that former Coffee County election officials allowed in violation of state law.”
...
"In her sweeping indictment handed up on Monday, the Coffee County breach features prominently throughout. Powell, Latham, Hall, and Hampton are all charged under the mammoth indictment’s racketeering charge, which alleges that “several of the Defendants corruptly conspired ... to unlawfully access secure voting equipment and voter data” and “stole data, including ballot images, voting equipment software and personal voter information.” According to the indictment, the “stolen data was then distributed to other members of the enterprise, including members in other states.”
...
But the account presented in this article—based on public records, depositions, court filings, interviews, internal emails obtained by Lawfare, and the indictment handed up Monday—attempts for the first time to comprehensively detail the extent to which a group of election officials and Republican Party operatives in a small rural county won the ears of the president’s top lawyers and operatives as they sought to discredit the national vote Trump had lost.

It is the story of how, in the name of preventing election fraud, this group appropriated county election systems—and in the process made voting machines there and elsewhere less secure against future attack—and came to be charged with conspiring to commit election fraud themselves."

 

[Steelhead]

So strange to me that the integrity of voting machines has been questioned only in places that Trump lost.

Apparently they function perfectly in places that he won.

I’m starting to think (not really) that Trump rigged the machines he won on. That makes a lot more sense to me than the other way around.

 

[Friday Fan]

Their attorneys would file all of the motions and enter the plea prior to the court date, so, no, they wouldn't have to appear.
IMO

Ah...I did not know that was "waving arraignment".

But yes, in many white collar cases the attorneys do all the work. I just assumed that when the attorneys entered the plea, it was also the arraignment. Learn something new every day!