A major national newspaper reported on Monday that lawyers connected to the former president of the United States sought access to election data labeled as sensitive. The claim described how this data, which had been removed from ballot-counting machines after the 2020 election, was allegedly copied by a team of computer experts. In one case, representatives of electoral systems in key states paid upfront sums of about $26,000 to these computer scientists.
The report outlines how an attorney sent a team to Michigan to copy data from a rural county and the Detroit area; another attorney undertook a similar operation in Nevada, and on January 7, 2021, immediately after the Capitol assault, teams were dispatched to South Georgia.
That same Monday, it was learned that the former president’s former personal attorney is facing a Georgia investigation for involvement in efforts to overturn the 2020 results, which ultimately favored the current president. The attorney is set to appear before a grand jury in Atlanta, where investigators are examining conspiracy theories about alleged election interference in favor of one political party. The investigation is being led by the county prosecutor, who is pursuing questions about attempts to influence election officials.
Since last spring, a special grand jury has convened in Georgia to determine whether the former president and others placed improper pressure on politicians. Concurrently, a federal judge rejected a bid by a Republican senator to avoid testifying before a special jury that had been convened to address calls involving two individuals. The judge’s ruling centers on whether those calls are linked to efforts to influence election outcomes.
In Georgia and several other states, special grand juries cannot hand down criminal charges, but they do possess the authority to compel witness testimony and collect documents through confidential proceedings. The jury, typically consisting of 16 to 23 members, may, at the end of its term, issue a report detailing its findings and, in some cases, recommend actions. The responsibility to pursue formal charges rests with prosecutors, who may present evidence to another grand jury as needed.