‘Security Risk’: Georgia GOP Officials Warn Judge Against Pro-Trump Crackpot Sidney Powell
@alexvhenderson
December 04 | 2020
Sidney Powell
Screenshot from RSBNetwork via Orin Kerr/ Twitter
Reprinted with permission from Alternet
Right-wing attorney Sidney Powell's attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election have been so outrageous and over-the-top that even President Donald Trump's legal team has distanced itself from her. And according to Law & Crime reporter Aaron Keller, Georgia officials believed that her proposal for inspecting voting machines in that state posed a "security risk."
Georgia is among the battleground states that President-elect Joe Biden won in the 2020 election, but Powell — like other pro-Trump attorneys — has been claiming, without credible evidence, that Trump was the real winner in the Peach State and that the election was fraudulent. In a lawsuit that she filed with Lin Wood, another far-right pro-Trump attorney, Powell wanted her team to conduct forensic inspections of Georgia's voting machines. But during a federal court hearing held on Sunday in the Northern District of Georgia, Russell David Willard — an attorney representing Georgia officials — warned that what Powell, Wood and their team were proposing was downright dangerous.
<p>Powell, during the hearing, told Batten that she wanted to inspect voting machines in ten Georgia counties. "The important part is, it's not just the data that comes out of the machines that is crucial to the fraud case that is so rampant across the country — it is the fact that an algorithm we believe was uploaded to the Dominion machines that weighted the votes for Mr. Biden over the votes for President Trump at approximately 1.22 over .78."</p><div class="inarticle_ad_placeholder" data-aa-adunit="/5931858/NatMemo_RM/NatMemo_Middle_Desktop_2" data-aaad="true"></div>
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<div id="vid"></div><p>But Willard told Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr., "You cannot allow, during the midst of an election cycle, a third party to come in and get the proverbial keys to the software kingdom." According to William, "Powell's minions" could "go in and image everything, download the software, and figure out for future elections a way to hack in so that their preferred candidate can win."</p><p>"That is, in effect, what they are seeking here," Willard told Batten. "They want to image, as they just said, not only the data on the machines, but also, the entire software package and the security protocols that are set up. That is something no federal court can possibly countenance."</p><p>Keller notes that Powell told Batten the Dominion Voting Systems program used in Georgia was also used in Venezuela to help leftist Huge Chavez steal elections in that South American country. But Dominion, in response to Powell's claims, has countered that its software has <a href="https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/sidney-powell-2649062448/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">never been used in Venezuela</a>.</p><p>In a press release, the company stated: "Dominion has no ties to the Venezuelan government, nor any other foreign government, including China and Iran. Dominion has never participated in any elections in Venezuela and has no connection or relationship with the now deceased former Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez. Other companies have serviced elections in Venezuela, but Dominion is not one of them."</p><p>Keller also notes that Batten "ordered several machines to remain untouched (in Georgia). The judge chiseled out a decision after much back-and-forth and pleading by Wood). Future briefs and hearings were also set."</p><div class="inarticle_ad_placeholder" data-aa-adunit="/5931858/NatMemo_RM/NatMemo_Middle_Desktop_3" data-aaad="true"></div>
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Sen. David Perdue
Photo by Gage Skidmore/ CC BY-SA 2.0
Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) has in recent days come under renewed scrutiny for his financial activities, including trades in his stock portfolio.
With accusations of insider trading and other violations, Perdue has a lot going on in the lead-up to the runoff election for his Senate seat in Georgia on Jan. 5.
<p>Perdue's Democratic challenger, Jon Ossoff, <a href="https://twitter.com/ossoff/status/1334292907348664321?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">blasted</a> the incumbent on social media Wednesday night, tweeting: "We've got a political system where money buys access. If Goldman Sachs' stock were plunging overnight, David Perdue would be on the first jet to DC, passing a bill within 6 hours. When it comes to regular people, the Senate hasn't passed any economic relief since early summer."</p><script id="3d14008d7e044c36b256c61ff82728bb">
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</script><p>And Perdue isn't offering any explanations.</p><p>Since a <a href="https://americanindependent.com/georgia-senator-david-perdue-trump-superspreader-rally/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">video</a> of Ossoff slamming Perdue's COVID response during their Oct. 28 debate went viral, Perdue has refused to debate Ossoff again.</p><p>In the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n1qjBUZhv4" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">clip</a>, Ossoff suggests Perdue was too busy dodging insider trading probes to look after the health of Georgians.</p><p>Perdue responded by canceling the final debate before the general election, attending a Trump rally instead.</p><p>He also <a href="https://americanindependent.com/georgia-senator-david-perdue-jon-ossoff-debate-viral-video-runoff-election/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">refused</a> to attend a pre-runoff Dec. 6 debate at the Atlanta Press Club, blaming the media for not holding Ossoff "accountable" for embarrassing him.</p><div class="inarticle_ad_placeholder" data-aa-adunit="/5931858/NatMemo_RM/NatMemo_Middle_Desktop_2" data-aaad="true"></div>
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<div id="vid"></div><p>Here's a rundown of some of the top financial scandals in which Perdue's been embroiled during his time in the Senate.</p><h2>1. He Sold Cardlytics Stock After Emails With CEO.</h2><p>In late January, after an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/25/us/politics/david-perdue-cardlytics.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">email exchange</a> with the CEO of Cardlytics, a financial company, Perdue sold $1 million worth of the company's stock, just six weeks before its chief executive announced he'd be stepping down and its market value plummeted.</p><p>Two days before the sale, the CEO, Scott Grimes, sent a personal email to Perdue that mentioned an upcoming meeting with the company's chief financial officer and "upcoming changes." When Perdue said he didn't know about the meeting, Grimes replied: "David, Sorry. That email was not meant for you. Wrong David!"</p><p>Perdue then got in touch with his Goldman Sachs wealth manager and told him to sell off the shares in Cardlytics; the sale took place Jan. 23.</p><p>The transaction was one among several that led to an investigation of Perdue's trading activity by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Perdue was cleared of wrongdoing over the summer.</p><p><em>The Washington Post</em> reported that Walter Shaub, the former head of the Office of Government Ethics, <a href="https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1334216059478548482" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said</a> of the trade: "He paid consideration to purchase the now public stocks by exercising stock options on terms not generally available to the public. This raises a question as to whether he violated the STOCK Act of 2012."</p><h2>2. He Lied About Controlling His Own Stock Portfolio</h2><p>The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/02/us/politics/david-perdue-stock-trades.html?smid=tw-share" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>New York Times</em></a> reported Wednesday that while Perdue has always claimed to the media that he doesn't control his own stock portfolio and that it is managed by outside advisers, that's not quite true.</p><p>"Senator Perdue doesn't handle the day-to-day decisions of his portfolio — all of his holdings are managed by outside financial advisers who make recommendations, set strategy, and manage trades and personal finances," John Burke, Perdue's campaign communications director, told the Times.</p><div class="inarticle_ad_placeholder" data-aa-adunit="/5931858/NatMemo_RM/NatMemo_Middle_Desktop_3" data-aaad="true"></div><p>But the <em>Times</em> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/25/us/politics/david-perdue-cardlytics.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reported</a> on Nov. 25 that three separate sources said the Cardlytics trade was carried out on Perdue's direct instructions and that the a source said Goldman Sachs had recorded the orders in an internal memo.</p><h2>3. He Profited From Malware-Detecting Firm While On Cybersecurity Panel</h2><p>During his time in the Senate, Perdue also repeatedly bought and sold shares in malware-detecting company FireEye.</p><p>Almost half of Perdue's 61 FireEye transactions took place while he was a member of the Senate's cybersecurity subcommittee and could potentially have been privy to nonpublic information. They netted him $15,000. And during Perdue's time on the subcommittee, FireEye scored a contract worth $30 million with the Army Cyber Command.</p><h2>4. He Traded Shares In Firms Overseen By His Own Banking Panel</h2><p>Since 2017, Perdue has served on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. During that time, the New York Times' reporting discloses, Perdue repeatedly traded shares in companies that were directly overseen by the committee, including financial giants Regions Financial, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase.</p><h2>5. He Pushed For Obscure Tax Breaks For Biggest Donors</h2><p><em>ProPublica</em> <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/georgia-senator-david-perdue-privately-pushed-for-a-tax-break-for-rich-sports-teamowners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reported</a> on Nov. 20 that Perdue wrote a <a href="https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20413126-perdue-letter-re-sports-team-owners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">letter</a> to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin in 2019 urging him to extend to the owners of professional sports teams a tax break for other kinds of businesses included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.</p><p>Perdue wrote that "an owner of a professional sports club is not allowed the 199A deduction. I hope you will reconsider." Mnuchin did not take Perdue's advice.</p><p>ProPublica <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/georgia-senator-david-perdue-privately-pushed-for-a-tax-break-for-rich-sports-teamowners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">noted</a> that Perdue's campaign contributions have included over $425,000 from professional sports team owners over the years, including from the family of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, which owns the Orlando Magic, as well as fellow Georgia Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who owns the Atlanta Dream.</p><h2>6. He Bought Stock In Submarine Firm Just Before Chairing Seapower Panel</h2><p><a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/sen-david-perdue-helped-defense-contractor-and-sold-off-its-stock" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>The Daily Beast</em></a> reported on Nov. 19 that Perdue bought up $190,000 in stock in BWX Technologies, a company that makes high-tech submarine parts — just before he was named chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee's Subcommittee on Seapower, which oversees the U.S. Navy.</p><p>Perdue helped to shape the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, which allotted $4.7 billion to Virginia-class submarines, for which BWX Technologies makes parts.</p><p>The Daily Beast noted that the company is also one of only a few vendors contracted with the Pentagon to make those parts.</p><p>According to Perdue's 2019 financial disclosures, he earned $15,000 to $50,000 from his trades of stock in BWX.</p><h2>7. He Bought Stock In PPE At Start Of Pandemic</h2><p>Perdue did some of his <a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/david-perdue-stock-trading-saw-uptick-coronavirus-took-hold/MRWmzwXeHgxi6IcmBbPgaN/" target="_blank">heaviest trading</a> as the coronavirus threat spread, according to a report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, logging 112 transactions in early March.</p><p>Perdue also notoriously began buying <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-david-perdue-bought-stock-company-producing-ppe-after-briefing-2020-4" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">stock</a> in DuPont de Nemours, a company that manufactures personal protective equipment — the kind used by medical personnel on the front lines combating the coronavirus — on the very same day the Senate received a private briefing on the pandemic.</p><p>Perdue's team says he did not <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/491515-georgia-senator-bought-stock-in-personal-protective-equipment-maker-on-day-of" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">attend</a> the meeting in question.</p><p>"I can't address anybody else's situation, but I can just tell you over the last five years I've had outside professionals manage my personal affairs," Perdue <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/491515-georgia-senator-bought-stock-in-personal-protective-equipment-maker-on-day-of" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said</a> in an interview on March 20. "I don't deal with [my stock portfolio] on a day-to-day basis."</p><p>Meanwhile, he was publicly declaring that COVID-19 was no worse than the flu.</p><h2>8. He Made Well-timed Trades Early In Pandemic</h2><p>At the beginning of the pandemic, Perdue <a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/perdue-loeffler-among-senators-whose-stock-trading-during-coronavirus-raises-questions/YjEYsWqAVwZh52HTpl1EpL/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">invested</a> $245,000 in pharmaceutical company Pfizer and sold off up to $165,000 in stocks in Caesar Entertainment, a casino company that would later <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/11/perdue-hit-with-more-allegations-of-shady-stock-transactions.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">close</a> its doors as a safety measure.</p><p>Both transactions have drawn scrutiny due to their timing.</p><h2>9. He Bought Stock In Netflix At Height Of Pandemic</h2><p>The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Perdue snatched up $50,000 in stock in Netflix at the beginning of the pandemic in March. This acquisition too came after the private briefing for senators on the coronavirus threat that Perdue denies having attended.</p><p>Netflix shares have <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2020/10/19/netflix-earnings-5-numbers-growth-continues-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic/?sh=57a1309a225e" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">soared</a> more than 60 percent since the beginning of the pandemic due to a sharp uptick in numbers of people staying at home, a <em>Forbes</em> report notes.</p><p><em>Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.</em></p>
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