Why is Fulton County spreading madness about the 2020 election? Lawsuit raises alarms

Fulton County, Pennsylvania, is a rural swathe of rolling hills and tight-knit communities. If you don’t live or work in the county, there is not much else to do. Yet, all of a sudden Fulton County has embroiled itself in the time-consuming, expensive, wrong-headed and losing battle to use their taxpayer dollars to underwrite a billionaire’s dreams to upset our American democracy.

At the heart of this craziness lies a controversial saga involving voting machines, accusations of misconduct, and a clash between the county commission and the Pennsylvania Department of State.

How this all began in wake of 2020 presidential election

The story began in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, when unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud began circulating. Two of Fulton County's then three commissioners, Stuart Ulsh and Randy Bunch, embraced these claims and embarked on a mission to "audit" the county's Dominion Voting Systems machines. However, their methods raised immediate concerns.

Instead of utilizing official channels or accredited firms, Ulsh and Bunch granted unauthorized access to the machines to Wake TSI, a third-party company with ties to election conspiracy theorists. This move defied warnings from the state and alarmed security experts, who feared the machines could be compromised.

The Department of State, led by Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, swiftly intervened. They filed lawsuits and sought judicial orders to block further access to the machines and preserve evidence. The ensuing legal battle dragged on for months, pitting the county commissioners against state officials in a courtroom drama that drew national attention.

Ultimately, the commissioners faced legal consequences. In April 2023, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court sanctioned Fulton County, ordering it to reimburse the state for legal fees and placing the disputed voting machines in the custody of a neutral agent. Ulsh and Bunch also faced individual censure, with the court finding the commissioners in contempt for defying court orders.Now that Ulsh and Bunch have been slapped with censure, and now that courts throughout the country have determined that the election was the most secure in the history of the United States, and that rumors of any breach have been determined to be an out-and-out lie by a sore loser, you would think that the Fulton County saga might end here. But, no. This is Fulton County, where facts are painted as lies and do not matter to some MAGA folks.

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A conspiracy theorist from, of all places, Utah enters the mix

Enter an unlikely character from Utah of all places. A businessman, conspiracy theorist, anti-vaccine huckster and distributor of misinformation named Patrick Byrne. Byrne is the guy who launched Overstock.com and served as its CEO for 20 years. You may recall he also had an intimate relationship with Russian agent Maria Butina.

Patrick Byrne’s lawyer is none other than Michigan-based attorney Stefanie Lambert, alias Stephanie Junttila. She and CyberNinjas CEO Doug Logan planned a forensic audit of Trump’s 2020 Michigan election loss. This was funded by Patrick Byrne’s reported commitment of $1.2 million to the effort. This did not work out so well, as Stefanie Lambert is now facing criminal charges for an alleged tabulator tampering scheme in Michigan.

In Arizona things did not go any better. Stephanie Lambert was involved in an expensive partisan audit in that state. It turns out that Stefanie Lambert and Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan also worked to conduct this Arizona audit. They discovered no proof that the election was stolen from former President Donald Trump.

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Fulton County joins the madness right before New Year's Eve

You would think that Fulton County might choose to distance itself from this cast of characters. Yet on Dec. 28, 2023 — a couple days before New Year’s Eve — Stefanie Lambert wrote a letter to House Judiciary Committee Republican Ranking Member Jim Jordan on behalf of none other than Fulton County, Pa.

Lambert writes in her opening paragraph “that my law firm [Stefanie L. Lambert PLLC, 400 Renaissance Center, 26th Floor, Detroit, MI 48243] represents Fulton County, Pa. Fulton County requests Congress to investigate Bill Barr and his role in obstructing a federal investigation related to the Nov. 3, 2020 election and the voting equipment used in the Nov. 3, 2020 election.”

Further, Lambert writes, “Fulton County requests Congress to investigate the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), Pro V & V (EAC voting system test laboratory) and Dominion Voting Systems Inc. regarding the certification of voting systems and funds provided by Dominion Voting System, Inc. ... ”

After listing a series of allegations, Lambert states that Fulton County is aware that votes were "flipped" in Northampton County, Pa., that Williamston, Tenn. had an inaccurate vote tally and that Maricopa observed similar problems. She indicates that the Election Assistance Commission and others found these issues to be either non-existent or insignificant as the Election Assistance Commission felt it inconsequential to the election results.

Fulton County's latest move raises all kinds of questions

Sometimes what you don’t say is as important as what you do not say.

Lambert is representing Fulton County. So why is she making allegations regarding Northampton County, Williamston and Maricopa. And why doesn’t her letter address any alleged problems in Fulton County?Who is paying her lawyering bill? If it is Fulton County, when and how much has been approved by the Commissioners? If it is not Fulton County, then who is paying the bill, and what is the agreement between Fulton County and the bill payer?

Who will be paying the costs of yet another investigation? Will these costs be pushed to Fulton County taxpayers again, as the court did last time around?

What proof, if any, do the Commissioners have of any wrongdoing in the tabulation of Fulton County ballots? Has this information been turned over to state and federal reviewers and law enforcement? And what were the results?

Why are the Fulton County Commissioners involved with a Michigan attorney (who is facing criminal charges) to represent the county before a Republican Congressman from Ohio?

Shouldn’t the Fulton County Commissioners be communicating on this issue with their own Congressman John Joyce, who represents Fulton County?

If there were inconsistencies in vote tabulation, how did that affect the election of the Commissioners and other Fulton County elected officials? Should Fulton County hold a new election?

Bill Gindlesperger is a central Pennsylvanian, Dickinson College graduate, Pennsylvania System Of Higher Education (PASSHE) Governor, Shippensburg University Trustee, and Chairman of eLynxx Solutions. eLynxx provides cloud-software to source and manage print and mail marketing. He is a board member, campaign advisor, successful entrepreneur, published author and commentator. He can be reached at Bill.Gindlesperger@eLynxx.com.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Lawsuit on 2020 election puts Fulton County in unwelcome spotlight