Pa. county sanctioned over copying 2020 voting machine data

Apr 19, 2023, 12:42 PM

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania Republican-majority county government where two commissioners secretly allowed a third party to copy voting-machine data last year to help former President Donald Trump overturn his 2020 reelection defeat received contempt sanctions Wednesday from the state’s highest court.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled against Fulton County commissioners Stuart Ulsh and Randy Bunch — and their lawyers — for their behavior late last fall during pending litigation.

“We find that Fulton County and its various attorneys have engaged in a sustained, deliberate pattern of dilatory, obdurate and vexatious conduct and have acted in bad faith throughout these sanction proceedings,” wrote Justice David Wecht, in a 79-page opinion that announced the county was being held in civil contempt.

Fulton County was ordered to reimburse the Department of State for its legal costs and fees spent seeking to protect the machines from outside examinations since December 2021. The justices also called for the Dominion Voting Systems Inc.-owned machines in question to be placed in the custody of a “neutral agent” at the county’s expense.

The Department of State had sought sanctions after learning in September that Speckin Forensics LLC, of Lansing, Michigan, copied hard drives in July from voting machines Fulton County rented from Dominion. Messages seeking comment were left for Speckin Forensics, which was not accused of wrongdoing in the matter before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Fulton had claimed in a lawsuit against Dominion that it was looking into whether the machines recorded votes accurately.

Manuel Bonder, a spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, called the high court decision “further proof that those who abuse our legal system to peddle dangerous lies about our elections will continue to be held accountable.”

The court ruling in Pennsylvania comes as election conspiracy theorists have gained access to confidential data from voting machines in rural areas across the country, ranging from Colorado to Michigan. A clerk in Colorado’s Mesa County faces multiple felony charges for her role in a breach there, and a special prosecutor was appointed to investigate breaches in Michigan.

Ulsh said in a phone interview Wednesday he had not seen the court opinions but had no regrets over how he and Bunch handled the machines in their effort to review the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election.

“Nothing happened in Fulton County. I know that because of what I did,” Ulsh said. Fulton County gave Trump more than 85% of its vote in 2020.

Ulsh and Bunch both invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in response to the vast majority of questions asked of them on direct examination in the contempt proceedings late last year before the high court’s special master, Commonwealth Court President Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer.

Dominion has been the subject of conspiracy theories claiming without evidence the election was stolen from Trump. The company reached a nearly $800 million settlement with Fox News on Tuesday in one of a number of defamation lawsuits it has filed against his allies and right-wing broadcasters.

In the Pennsylvania case, the justices ruled that Dominion was also entitled to legal costs associated with protecting the voting machines going back to December 2021.

Fulton’s lawyer, Thomas J. Carroll of Pottstown, “incessantly transgressed the bounds of zealous but ethical advocacy,” repeatedly raising the same arguments before Cohn Jubelirer and the state Supreme Court, “long after it was clear that neither would grant the relief he sought,” Wecht said.

The justices referred Carroll to the state Attorney Disciplinary Board for an investigation and ruled Carroll to be liable — along with Fulton County — for costs and fees expended by Dominion and the Department of State since Carroll entered the case in April 2022. A message seeking comment from Carroll was left at his work phone number.

“We can hope that the sanctions will underscore for the County, Attorney Carroll, and other observers that they trifle with judicial orders and time-honored rules and norms in litigation at their peril,” Wecht wrote.

In its opinion, the court also targeted Stefanie Lambert, a Michigan lawyer who already has been sanctioned for her efforts to help Trump overturn his defeat. She represented Fulton County starting in 2022. The justices said she failed to disclose the disciplinary proceedings in Michigan arising from “2020 election-related litigation deemed frivolous and vexatious.”

Reached by email, Lambert said she had not seen the new Pennsylvania Supreme Court opinion.

The justices sent the matter back to Cohn Jubelirer to calculate the applicable legal fees and litigation costs to the Department of State and Dominion.

___

AP reporters Nicholas Riccardi in Denver and Marc Levy contributed.

United States News

Associated Press

San Francisco police: 9 victims hit but no deaths in Mission District mass shooting

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Multiple victims were struck by bullets during a mass shooting in San Francisco’s Mission District Friday night, but authorities said there were no fatalities. “We can confirm there are 9 shooting victims — all are expected to survive their injuries,” the San Francisco Police Department said in a tweet. Police said […]

8 hours ago

FILE - Cameron Champ, of the United States, hits out of a bunker on the ninth hole during the Walke...

Associated Press

Beverly Hills-adjacent golf club opens doors to world with U.S. Open

LOS ANGELES (AP) — For much of the past century, the Los Angeles Country Club was quite literally a hidden gem. While Los Angeles grew from a warm-weather outpost into a global metropolis, this picturesque golf club sat in one of the city’s most dazzling settings — 325 acres of multibillion-dollar real estate adjoining Beverly […]

1 day ago

Seen is the damage from a collapsed apartment building, Monday, June 5, 2023, in Davenport, Iowa. T...

Associated Press

Cracked floors, bowed walls: Many warnings but no action at Iowa building before deadly collapse

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — So many people knew something wasn’t right at the 116-year-old Davenport apartment building. The structural engineer who documented the shaky wall. The head of a masonry company who wouldn’t let his workers onto the site. The city inspector who threatened to close some units. A downtown official who called 911 […]

1 day ago

One of several cameras set up to capture live debate in the chamber of the Nebraska Legislature is ...

Associated Press

Nebraska Legislature as reality TV, featuring filibuster and culture war drama

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Mention televised legislative debates, and what may come to mind are stuffy, policy-wonk discussions broadcast by C-SPAN. This year’s Nebraska Legislature was more like a reality TV show, with culture-war rhetoric, open hostility among lawmakers, name-calling, yelling and more. Many Nebraskans couldn’t get enough of it. “It was addictive,” said Jamie […]

1 day ago

Drag performer Neon Calypso, center, sings and dances to Tina Turner's version of the song "Proud M...

Associated Press

Pride is back in Boston as parade returns after quarrel over inclusivity

BOSTON (AP) — The biggest Pride parade in New England returns to Boston after a three-year hiatus Saturday, with a fresh focus on social justice and inclusion rather than corporate backing. About 10,000 marchers signed up before registration was shut down, according to organizers. Employee groups are welcome to march, but corporations aren’t. “We really […]

1 day ago

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of Calif., leaves his office on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday,...

Associated Press

Trump’s GOP defenders in Congress leap into action on charges after months of preparation

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump’s indictment on charges of mishandling classified documents is set to play out in a federal court in Florida. But hundred of miles away, part of Trump’s defense is well underway in a different venue — the halls of Congress, where Republicans have been preparing for months to wage […]

1 day ago

Sponsored Articles

...

SANDERSON FORD

Thank you to Al McCoy for 51 years as voice of the Phoenix Suns

Sanderson Ford wants to share its thanks to Al McCoy for the impact he made in the Valley for more than a half-decade.

...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

How to identify the symptoms of 3 common anxiety disorders

Living with an anxiety disorder can be debilitating and cause significant stress for those who suffer from the condition.

(Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona Photo)...

Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona

5 common causes for chronic neck pain

Neck pain can debilitate one’s daily routine, yet 80% of people experience it in their lives and 20%-50% deal with it annually.

Pa. county sanctioned over copying 2020 voting machine data