Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and the state’s elections chief were ordered in a late-night Sunday ruling to explain why they were opposed to the Trump campaign’s request to inspect voting machines the president has claimed “switched” votes in favor of Joe Biden.
Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, both Republicans, were given until Wednesday to file a response to inspection demands by former Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell.
Powell was unceremoniously mocked for her allegations that the 2020 presidential election was rigged by members of both parties and billionaire George Soros and funded in part by “communist” money from Venezuela and Cuba. Powell’s lawsuit also alleged Dominion Voting Systems was part of the complex election rigging scheme. Powell has not produced any evidence for her claims.
Dominion has categorically denied it rigged its machines to give Biden the edge.
At the unscheduled Sunday night Zoom hearing, Kemp and Raffensperger argued that the inspections of Cobb, Gwinnett, and Cherokee counties posed security and intellectual property risks.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten, a George W. Bush appointee, asked the state officials to explain their reasoning in writing and also ordered Georgia not to alter or erase any of the data.
A hearing has been scheduled for Friday morning. Batten also ordered the state to provide Powell with a copy of the state’s contract with Dominion “promptly.”
Powell was dismissed from Trump’s team of lawyers, but the president has stood by her allegations that fraud must be behind the uptick in votes for Biden.
Trump has repeatedly criticized Kemp and Raffensperger for not stepping in on his behalf in the Georgia elections.
On Sunday, Trump tweeted he was “ashamed” he endorsed Kemp in 2018. On Monday, he called the GOP governor “hapless” and implored him to use nonexistent “emergency powers” to root out alleged election fraud and overturn state results that put Biden ahead of Trump by more than 12,000 votes.
“Why won’t Governor @BrianKempGA, the hapless Governor of Georgia, use his emergency powers, which can be easily done, to overrule his obstinate Secretary of State, and do a match of signatures on envelopes. It will be a ‘goldmine’ of fraud, and we will easily WIN the state,” Trump tweeted.
Why won’t Governor @BrianKempGA, the hapless Governor of Georgia, use his emergency powers, which can be easily done, to overrule his obstinate Secretary of State, and do a match of signatures on envelopes. It will be a “goldmine” of fraud, and we will easily WIN the state….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2020
Kemp has said that while he understands Trump’s “frustrations,” the law clearly sets out his duties as governor and that he cannot interfere in elections. Raffensperger, who received death threats after the election, has said he is doing his job as an elected official and that Trump’s allegations of fraud are unfounded.
