Update: Investigators find no evidence for Georgia Gov. Kemp’s hacking claim
From the AJC:
Sixteen months later, the attorney general’s office released a report Tuesday finding no evidence of a hack and closing the investigation Kemp had launched.
No election information was damaged, stolen or lost, according to the report, and there was no evidence of computer crimes.
Democratic Party of Georgia Chairwoman Nikema Williams said Kemp created “outright lies” to attack his political opponents and help his election.
Original story: Last-minute investigations are fun!
Spoiler alert: This is some serious BS coming from the Georgia GOP. It reminds of the Josh McLaurin case, when the State GOP folded like a cheap tent after its false and malicious mailers drew a libel suit.
It is late Sunday night–make that early Monday morning—and it’s more important at this crucial hour to get the truth out than to worry about niceties. Figuring it is better to ask forgiveness than permission at his critical hour, I am lifting Rep. Scott Holcomb’s response to a bizarre set of events stemming from the Georgia Secretary of State’s office’s transformation into an operational arm of Brian Kemp’s gubernatorial campaign. If there is any doubt why Kemp didn’t step down as Secretary of State to avoid a conflict of interest, there is no doubt now. More later, but first, this tweet:
BREAKING: Team Kemp is losing their minds. Rachel Small is a volunteer for the Democratic Party of Georgia on our voter protection hotline. She received an email from a man named Richard Wright. She forwarded Richard's email to our voter protection director. Sorry, @BrianKempGA. https://t.co/eogwmEZ2X0
The move to publicly disclose the probe appeared to break with tradition in the office, which oversees voting integrity, as it differed from how Kemp’s team handled an earlier cyber breach at Kennesaw State University.
Scott Holcomb calls them out:
Rep. Scott Holcomb has served as a voice of reason in these ridiculous times. He’s calling for the Secretary of State’s office to show its hand. (Spoiler alert: It’s dirty)
Another day, another mess with our state’s election system in Georgia.
Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who happens to be running for governor, accuses the Democratic Party of Georgia of a cyberattack. He has yet to provide any evidence, although he has been asked. The Democratic Party of Georgia strongly denies the allegation.
This is a serious allegation and it should be backed up. If it actually happened, then there must be accountability.
But it’s easy to be skeptical of the claim because Secretary Kemp has a very poor track record of overseeing our state’s elections. This is what a federal judge had to say about it:
“buried their heads in the sand”
“non-responsive”
“response is bare-boned … absence of evidence”
“no witness with actual computer science engineering and forensic expertise”
I sent an Open Records Act request to Kemp asking for evidence of the cyberattack, and I’m attaching the excerpts from the Court Order so you can see that I’m not making up the judge’s words or assessment. These excerpts are from Curling, et al. v. Kemp, et al., which is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
