A team of computer scientists led by Donald Trump's lawyers copied data from electoral systems in key states such as Georgia, Nevada and Michigan, The Washington Post reported on Monday.
Documents and sources from the newspaper suggest that while they were working to reverse the electoral defeat of the now former president in 2020, his lawyers turned to these computer experts to extract the electoral data from the vote counting machines.
The Post recounts how attorney Sidney Powell sent a team to Michigan to copy data from a rural county and the Detroit area; another attorney ordered her transfer to Nevada, and on January 7, 2021—just after the Capitol storming—they were sent to South Georgia. In one of the cases, the computer scientists, from the Atlanta, Georgia-based forensic firm Sullivan Strickler, received $26,000 in advance.
Records presented in the federal court subpoena have revealed the goings-on by allies of the former president, who are accused of breaching security at election offices. The indications were raised as early as February, and state officials have said they are investigating.
Experts worry that officials sympathetic to Trump's claims of voter fraud will undermine the security of the election. Emails reviewed by The Post show that Powell told Sullivan Strickler to share the data obtained with other pro-Trump operatives, some of whom continue to openly push conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.
State authorities have opened criminal investigations in Michigan, a case involving several people who appear in recent evidence. In Mesa County, Colorado, Republican Tina Peters was charged with impersonation and trying to influence a public official.
The documents show how Powell's group discussed, traded and paid for electoral system data. The plaintiffs intend to present the evidence to the judge in the case and also provide it to the FBI, as well as to state and local election authorities in Georgia, the plaintiff's attorney told the Washington newspaper.
