When last we checked in on Konnech, the Michigan-based software company, the firm’s CEO had been arrested and charged in Los Angeles. Seems Konnech, which has deep ties to Communist China, has been sending sensitive personally identifiable data on U.S. election workers to China and storing it on servers there. Also turns out, apparently, that Konnech was given “super admin” access to computer systems in the states to which they provided software and then gave that same level of access to as yet unidentified “contractors” in mainland China.
The information about Konnech’s activities was originally uncovered by Catherine Engelbrecht and Gregg Phillips of True the Vote, a non-profit focused on election integrity. Konnech is now suing Engelbrecht and Phillips and seeking to have a federal judge in Texas order the two to provide the name of the confidential informant that gave them the information on Konnech’s activities.
The judge in the case has ordered Engelbrecht and Phillips to do so. He has directed them to appear in open court, in the presence of the press, and name their source. He has refused a request to have the name kept under seal. The judge has stated that if Engelbrecht and Phillips do not appear Monday morning and provide the name of their source, they will be taken to jail by the U.S. Marshalls.
To put this in context, let’s imagine that a drug dealer facing criminal charges filed a lawsuit in civil court to make the cops provide the name of a source inside his organization. Would anyone think for a moment that would be a reasonable request? Would anyone have any doubt as to the fate of the informant if he was identified?
That’s how ludicrous this is and how obscene.
The CEO of Konnech has been charged. He will get his day in court. The facts of the case will be established. He has the same right to a defense as any American. What he does not have is the right to abuse the legal system in order to gain access to information that may be used to intimidate witnesses against him.
Engelbrecht and Phillips have made clear they have no intention of “burning” their source. They are prepared to go to jail if necessary. That raises the very real prospect that the people responsible for exposing what may prove to be a very damaging compromise of American election systems will be the ones who go to jail while the key figures at Konnech continue to walk free.
The criminal charges filed by Los Angeles against the CEO of Konnech to date concern the issue of the storage of personally identifiable data on servers in China in violation of U.S. law. That does not mean that those charges encompass the full implications of what has been uncovered. The fact is that the information uncovered by Engelbrecht and Phillips may have much greater, even devastating implications.
Konnech provided software for use in the onboarding of election workers and officials in many American states. It then appears to have stored that data illegally on servers in China. By virtue of the fact that Konnech was given “super admin” access to U. S. election systems, however, and that those systems seem to have had broader connectivity to statewide election systems, Konnech may have been able to penetrate any number of election-related databases and to manipulate the data in those systems. That could include changing data, adding data, and deleting data.
The possible implications of this breach are, therefore, enormous. We may be looking at much more than just a violation of the rules on the storage of personally identifiable information. We may be looking at the possibility that the Chinese could have penetrated our electoral process.
We don’t know that yet. We certainly need to find out. The investigation of Konnech needs to run its course. We need to get to the bottom of this and know for sure what did and did not happen.
The first step in that process is making sure that the source of the information on Konnech is protected. There are procedures for handling this kind of situation. They are used regularly in criminal prosecutions involving confidential informants. Those procedures do not involve outing those informants in open court.
Something is very wrong here. Two brave individuals have come forward at great risk to themselves to expose what may prove to be a grave national security threat. Now, inexplicably, our “justice” system seems laser-focused on making sure they are the only ones who will go to jail.
Who's the judge? Sounds like someone ought to be digging into him.
The two that got the evidence will, are, American freedom heroes. Even future martyrs,
Now the masses must stand and deliver. 🚨🤷♂️🇺🇸