Good morning.
At 10 am there will be a hearing in Atlanta for Sidney Powell’s “kraken” conspiracy lawsuit to overturn the Georgia elections. Just this morning, a judge in Michigan tossed a similar effort to overturn that state’s results.
Here’s a quick primer on the GA case.
“Much like the mythological 'kraken' monster…their claims of election fraud and malfeasance belong more to the kraken’s realm of mythos than they do to reality.”
“The security of the state’s electronic voting equipment was not compromised.”
This weekend, the defendants dismantled it in a brutal motion to exclude her “expert” witnesses.
It’s too detailed to describe but here it is.
https://t.co/0z9soJ3Vtv
Judge Timothy Batten, a GWB appointee, on the bench.
He tells the parties this hearing is being audiocast nationally so...be forewarned.
Legal problems include: standing, untimeliness, state claims not federal claims made.
It's breathtaking:
Have a federal judge rule that "massive fraud" occurred, scrap the entire election in Georgia and effectively name Donald Trump the winner.
"This case simply does not belong in this court," he says.
Belinfante says the suit seeks "to substitute judicial fiat" for "the will of the people."
There is by now a growing body of case law that cuts against almost everything Powell has argued.
"At this point," she says, "there is simply no question that Joe Biden has won Georgia's election."
"Voters not lawyers choose the president. Ballots not briefs decide elections."
Statistical analysis, video, etc.
He asks her about federal/state claim issue.
Powell swears without explanation that she has raised federal claims.
Powell: These are federal claims.
Powell: Bush v Gore allows it.
*Shrug emoji*
Powell says she came forward with her claims as fast as possible.
She is saying this is a massive case with worldwide importance.
Frankly, she sounds crazy.
She mentions the Fulton County video...
She is completely ignoring Judge Batten's schedule and is likely flirting with disaster.
Powell says yes, there's more fraud everywhere--everywhere!--in Senate seats, House seats, gubernatorial seats...
"This is nowhere near over," she says.
He asks: How do your clients survive the motion to dismiss on standing?
Powell says electors have standing.
Appeals courts, he adds, have made it clear they don't want federal court handling this issue. They want state courts doing it.
Extreme importance felt by a litigant is not a legal argument as far as I can tell.
She's back to the conspiracy theory evidence:
The military intelligence canard.
The "lie" about the water leak.
The "suitcase" votes....
Plaintiffs also do not have standing, Batten rules.
Powell could have questioned the use of Dominion voting machines in GA months ago, not three weeks after the election.
"As if such a mechanism even exists and I find that it does not," he says.
More from Law
This issue was repeatedly highlighted bu Judge Totenberg:
Dominion’s system “does not produce a voter-verifiable paper ballot or a paper ballot marked with the voter’s choices in a format readable by the voter because the votes are tabulated solely from the unreadable QR code.”
Judge also found that Dominion's QR codes are NOT encrypted:
“Evidence plainly contradicts any contention that the QR codes or digital signatures are encrypted,”
This was “ultimately conceded by Mr. Cobb and expressly acknowledged later by Dr. Coomer during his testimony.”
Judge Totenberg said there was “demonstrable evidence” that the implementation of Dominion’s systems by Georgia placed voters at an “imminent risk of deprivation of their fundamental right to cast an effective vote,” which she defined as a “vote that is accurately counted.”
Judge Totenberg found that Dominion Systems inherently could not be audited.
She noted that auditors are severely limited and “can only determine whether the BMD printout was tabulated accurately, not whether the election outcome is correct.“
Totenberg stated in her ruling that a BMD printout “is not trustworthy” and the application of an Risk-Limiting audit (RLA) to an election that used BMD printouts “does not yield a true risk-limiting audit.”
Georgia used RLAs to claim no fraud...
Dominion’s system “does not produce a voter-verifiable paper ballot or a paper ballot marked with the voter’s choices in a format readable by the voter because the votes are tabulated solely from the unreadable QR code.”
Witness explaining that on electronic ballots (QR code ballots), it's impossible to determine voter intent. The machine decides the intent, whereas, with paper ballots, a human can double-check the ballot. https://t.co/kkhamio2Je
— The Election Wizard (@Wizard_Predicts) December 30, 2020
Judge also found that Dominion's QR codes are NOT encrypted:
“Evidence plainly contradicts any contention that the QR codes or digital signatures are encrypted,”
This was “ultimately conceded by Mr. Cobb and expressly acknowledged later by Dr. Coomer during his testimony.”
Judge Totenberg said there was “demonstrable evidence” that the implementation of Dominion’s systems by Georgia placed voters at an “imminent risk of deprivation of their fundamental right to cast an effective vote,” which she defined as a “vote that is accurately counted.”
Judge Totenberg found that Dominion Systems inherently could not be audited.
She noted that auditors are severely limited and “can only determine whether the BMD printout was tabulated accurately, not whether the election outcome is correct.“
Totenberg stated in her ruling that a BMD printout “is not trustworthy” and the application of an Risk-Limiting audit (RLA) to an election that used BMD printouts “does not yield a true risk-limiting audit.”
Georgia used RLAs to claim no fraud...
This is what he wants to do.
No matter how this trial plays out, the US will remain divided between those who choose truth, Democracy, and rule of law and the millions who reject these things.
1/
The question is how to move forward.
My mantra is that there are no magic bullets and these people will always be with us.
Except for state legislatures, they have less power now than they have for a while.
2/
The only real and lasting solutions are political ones. Get Democrats into local offices. Get people who want democracy to survive to the polls at every election, at every level.
It’s a constant battle.
3/
Maybe I should tell you all about Thurgood Marshall’s life to illustrate how hard the task is and how there will be backlash after each step of progress.
4/
Precisely. That's why Thurgood Marshall's life came to mind.
We are still riding the backlash that started after the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education.
That's why I keep saying there are no easy
No matter how this trial plays out, the US will remain divided between those who choose truth, Democracy, and rule of law and the millions who reject these things.
1/
Wouldn't he just use this to repeat his Big Lie and have GOP echo him?
— Thel Marquez (@theljava) January 31, 2021
The question is how to move forward.
My mantra is that there are no magic bullets and these people will always be with us.
Except for state legislatures, they have less power now than they have for a while.
2/
The only real and lasting solutions are political ones. Get Democrats into local offices. Get people who want democracy to survive to the polls at every election, at every level.
It’s a constant battle.
3/
Maybe I should tell you all about Thurgood Marshall’s life to illustrate how hard the task is and how there will be backlash after each step of progress.
4/
Precisely. That's why Thurgood Marshall's life came to mind.
We are still riding the backlash that started after the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education.
That's why I keep saying there are no easy
Yep. My relatives continue to support Trump and make false equivalencies as justification. I\u2019ve found it impossible to present factual information that changes minds. Trump\u2019s emotional appeal registers with them: that things were better before civil rights advances.
— Martha Brockenbrough INTO THE BLOODRED WOODS (@mbrockenbrough) January 31, 2021
![Peter McCormack [Jan/3\u279e\u20bf \U0001f511\u220e]](https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1524287442307723265/_59ITDbJ_normal.jpg)
