U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten Sr., assigned to two lawsuits led by Sidney Powell, issued an order late Sunday night blocking plans to wipe or reset voting machines used in three counties in the state.
The Zoom hearing held late Sunday night was not on the court’s docket and apparently not open to the public or the press, and was focused on claims of wildly inaccurate results from Dominion voting machines.
Powell has alleged, based on scant evidence, that the firm’s foreign ties allowed hostile governments to meddle in the U.S. election via a conspiracy that involved both Democratic and Republican U.S. officials.
Batten’s temporary restraining order issued after 10 p.m. Sunday applies to Cobb, Gwinett, and Cherokee counties, two of which favored Biden and one favored Trump. The order issued a restraint from alteration, destruction, or erasure of, any software or data on any Dominion voting machine in those counties.
Counsel for the defendants in the suit — Gov. Brian Kemp (R-Ga.), Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and four other members of the Georgia Elections Board — argued that the court had no jurisdiction over the counties because they are not parties to the case. The defendants added that allowing plaintiffs to inspect the machines “would pose substantial security and proprietary/trade secret risks.”
The judge agreed to be briefed on Wednesday by Kemp and Raffensperger’s reasons for the opposition to the “forensic inspections.”
The order also granted another request of the GOP plaintiffs for Georgia to supply the challengers with a copy of the contract with Dominion.
On Monday morning the judge certified his temporary restraining order for appeal, meaning state defendants could immediately appeal it to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Complete story at Politico.
