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Aug. 16, 2021 - Epoch Times

22:22

Lawmaker Issues Official Subpoenas for Ballots and Election Machines from 2 Counties | Facts Matter

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	Good evening.
	Over in Wisconsin, a lawmaker there has just issued official subpoenas to two different counties, requesting that they turn over all their ballots and all their election equipment so that they can conduct what she called a cyber forensic investigation.
	Meanwhile, over in Pennsylvania, a state senator there is likewise working on getting official subpoenas issued for three counties that refuse to comply with this earlier request.
	And also, over in Michigan, a county there has also requested to have their own audit, but this request was actually denied by the state's election bureau.
	However, the director of that bureau said that they actually have an alternative method.
	And lastly, just yesterday, the New York Supreme Court ruled in favor of Project Veritas, meaning that they can now depose staff members of the New York Times under oath.
	And actually, while I was down in Texas, I got a chance to sit down with James O'Keefe, who is the founder of Project Veritas, and he explained to me what all this means, as well as what the implications are.
	Let's go through it all together.
	This is your daily Facts Matter update, and I'm your host, Roman, from the Epoch Times.
	And now let's begin today's discussion over in Wisconsin.
	However, just before we do, as a super quick aside, right there at the very top of the description box is a link to Epic TV, which is our brand new no censorship video platform, We can find all of the awesome Epoch Times video programs like The Larry Elder Show, Crossroads with Joshua Phillip, American Thought Leaders, China in Focus, Life and Times, Counterpunch with Trevor Loudon, as well as our program, Facts Matter.
	And on there, we publish exclusive content as well as full-length interviews that, frankly, due to the censorship here on YouTube, we don't post on this platform.
	Again, the link to Epic TV will be right there at the very top of the description box.
	And now let's really move on over to Wisconsin.
	A lawmaker there, over in Wisconsin, has just issued official subpoenas to two different counties, demanding that those counties turn over all their ballots as well as all the voting equipment which was used during the 2020 presidential election.
	And the reason that this lawmaker is requesting all these materials is so that, according to the statement that she wrote at least, That the state can conduct a top-to-bottom cyber-forensic investigation into the results.
	Now, this lawmaker is named Janelle Branschen.
	She is a Republican.
	She's the head of the Wisconsin Assembly's Election Committee.
	And earlier this year, the Wisconsin Assembly actually voted to give Ms.
	Branschen both investigatory powers...
	As well as the power to issue subpoenas, which she's now obviously doing.
	Now, in explaining her reasoning for why she issued these subpoenas, here's what she wrote in this statement.
	Quote, Legislators have been hearing from thousands of disgruntled constituents regarding their concerns with the November 2020 election.
	From outside money pouring into Democrat-controlled communities, to individuals engaging in questionable activities, from improper guidance given to clerks from the Wisconsin Elections Commission, to clerks illegally prompting voters to declare themselves indefinitely confined, the list goes on and on.
	Now specifically, the two subpoenas were sent to Milwaukee County as well as to Brown County, which includes the city of Green Bay.
	And for your reference, by the way, Joe Biden officially won Milwaukee with 69% of the vote, while President Trump took Brown County with 52% of the vote.
	And these subpoenas demand that the clerks for these two counties must appear before the elections committee on September the 7th, which is about four weeks from now.
	Now, you might be asking yourself why these two counties were targeted specifically.
	Well, over in Milwaukee, county officials posted the official election results early in the morning, right after Election Day, which catapulted Joe Biden to victory in that state.
	However, Republicans have questioned the timing of that release, saying that it was suspicious.
	The clerks, on the other hand, say that there was nothing suspicious about it, and that was just how long it took to count the ballots.
	Meanwhile, over in Brown County, even though President Trump officially won, Republicans have been accusing the mayor of Green Bay, Eric Genrich, of letting a Facebook-funded consultant run that city's election, going so far as to actually hand this consultant the keys to the city's ballot counting location.
	And so, those were the reasons that Milwaukee and Brown counties were selected to receive these subpoenas.
	Now, you might have another question, which is, aren't there already two election audits currently underway in Wisconsin?
	And the answer to that is yes, there are.
	As we already discussed in a previous episode, several months ago, both the Wisconsin State Assembly as well as the Wisconsin State Senate, they both commissioned election investigations.
	The Assembly investigation is currently being led by Michael Gableman.
	Who is a former state Supreme Court justice, and he was recently assigned to be a special counsel, which gives him more authority.
	The investigation that was commissioned by the Senate is currently being conducted by the Legislative Auto Bureau, and frankly, there is not much publicly known about that second investigation, except for the fact that it's slated to be finished in the next few months, around fall.
	And so, you might be asking yourself, why did this lawmaker, why did Janelle Branson start up a third investigation?
	Well, according to this public statement, here is her reasoning.
	Quote, I understand the Legislative Audit Bureau is conducting an audit.
	However, many constituents have raised objections to it due to the length of time it has taken and the lack of specifics, as it is open-ended.
	She then goes on to say that she appreciates how the Assembly expanded the power of Michael Gabelman and gave him the authority as a special counsel.
	And then she goes on to say, quote, I sincerely welcome and applaud these efforts.
	However, the people of Wisconsin demand and deserve a transparent, full, cyber-forensic audit as described in the subpoena submitted to both Milwaukee and Brown counties.
	The clock is ticking as the 2022 elections will commence in just a matter of months.
	Now, it's also worth noting that Ms.
	Branschen was one of the lawmakers who traveled over to Arizona in order to watch the election audit that's taking place there in person over in Maricopa County.
	And now it looks like she's pushing for one to be conducted in Wisconsin as well.
	Now thus far, it's not clear whether these two counties will readily comply with these subpoenas or whether you'll have a situation like you had in Arizona where they're going to push back and challenge them in court.
	So far, Milwaukee County has not issued any response, while the officials over in Brown County said that they have received the subpoenas and they are reviewing the list of demands.
	Now, it's also worth mentioning that right after Ms.
	Branchin issued the subpoenas, thousands of people showed up to an audit-the-vote rally held outside the state capitol in Wisconsin.
	This rally was organized by a former Milwaukee County Sheriff named David Clark, and here's what he said while he was speaking on stage at the rally.
	It is time for this GOP-controlled legislature to stand up, to exercise their duty under the Constitution, and not let some other branch trample all over it.
	We the people must never surrender our right to scrutinize election results.
	Now, Ms.
	Janelle Branchin actually made an appearance at this rally, and here's what she said while she was up on stage.
	However, even though there was a lot of support for her actions, evidenced by the fact that there was a rally, Democrats in the Wisconsin Assembly criticized these subpoenas, and they called Ms.
	Branchin an enemy of our democratic system.
	Here's specifically what the Wisconsin Assembly's minority leader, Mr.
	Gordon Hinz, here's what he said in the statement.
	She's fulfilling exactly in lockstep what these forces have been pushing for.
	I'm not surprised someone pulled the puppet string.
	It really should be viewed as an attack on our country and an attack on our election system.
	Now, if you would like to read more about what's happening over in Wisconsin, I'll throw the links to everything we discussed, including the subpoenas mentioned in this letter, into the description box below this video so you can check them out for yourself.
	And now, let's move on over and discuss how a county over in Michigan is pushing to have their own election audit as well.
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	Now, since we're on the topic of election audits, let's move on over and briefly talk about Michigan.
	Back in June of this year, the Cheboygan County Board of Commissioners voted in favor of requesting an audit into the 2020 presidential election.
	Cheboygan County, by the way, is located in the north of Michigan.
	It's very close to Canada.
	And here's what the chairman of the county's board wrote in the letter.
	And so, back in June, which is two months ago, they submitted this letter here to the Michigan Department of State Elections, officially requesting that an audit be conducted, and specifically,
	They request that they conduct a hand recount of the Cheboygan County presidential ballots and compare the results of that hand recount to the electronic vote results that were reported, confirm the actual vote tally within Cheboygan County was accurately reported to the state election officials and confirm whether the county's election system and software machine However, just last week, this request was officially denied by Michigan's Department of State Elections.
	The director of that department, he reasoned in a letter that he wrote back to this county that the commissioners lack the authority, under state law, to either conduct or to supervise post-election audits.
	He said that according to Michigan's state law, only the Secretary of State and the county clerks can carry out election audits.
	And then afterwards, he wrote this.
	However, the director of the Elections Department did lay out another possible route that the county could take, which is to submit a FOIA request, or a Freedom of Information Act request, in order to view the ballots.
	Here's what he wrote in that letter.
	To compare the votes on paper ballots to the totals on the tabulator tapes, which are also public records that may be inspected, Now, the chairman of this county's commission, he released a statement saying that he was not dismayed by this decision.
	Here's what part of that said.
	Now, it's unclear as of now whether the county will actually pursue this FOIA request.
	We here at the Epoch Times were not able to get a comment from that chairman.
	Regardless, we will be following and keeping a close eye on these developments over in Michigan.
	And if you'd like to read more about this county's request...
	I'll throw a link to that into the description box below this video for you to check out, which is, by the way, that same description box right below that like button, which I hope you take a quick moment to smash, because it goes without saying that videos that are like this talking honestly about what is happening in this world are routinely censored or throttled or sometimes outright removed by big tech giants like YouTube.
	However, when you smash that like button below this video, you are forcing the YouTube algorithm to share this video out to potentially thousands of more people, letting the truth be known far and wide.
	And now let's move on over to Pennsylvania.
	One of the counties which had their election materials requested for an audit has just issued a scathing response.
	Now to give you a bit of background on what's happening over in Pennsylvania, a state senator out there named Doug May Shriano, he's a Republican, he recently requested that three counties hand over all of their election materials in order for them to be audited.
	Those counties pre-referenced, by the way, are York, Tioga, and Philadelphia counties.
	However, the deadline for that passed, and none of the three counties complied.
	They didn't hand anything over, and so now the senator, Senator Mestriano, who is, by the way, also the chairman of the Senate's Intergovernmental Operations Committee, he is now seeking to get official subpoenas to force these counties to hand over all their ballots, all their records, all their documents, as well as all their voting machines, including their tabulators, in order for them to conduct a forensic as well as all their voting machines, including their tabulators, in According to a statement released by Mr. Mestriano, those subpoenas will likely be coming within the next week.
	However, one of the counties has just issued a rebuke of this whole process.
	The commissioners over at Tioga County, they issued this statement three days ago, which said this in part, quote, The senator began his one-man quest with a false accusation, saying that if Teoga County did not give him what he wanted, it was because we had something to hide.
	The people of this county have nothing to hide, and Mr.
	Mastriano knows it.
	The commissioners then went on to say that according to a Pennsylvania law, without official subpoenas, they aren't legally allowed to turn over any materials.
	Here's what they wrote on that front.
	Quote, Senator Mastriano knew he would need subpoenas for the information he wants because of how the election laws work, including the law that allowed millions to vote by mail, Act 77, which Senator Mastriano proudly voted for and supported.
	They then further said that they were not able to hand over their machines because the Secretary of State in Pennsylvania would decertify them if they did, which would then present them with a problem ahead of the next election.
	And then they ended with this statement here.
	Now, we weren't able to get a comment from Doug Mastriano.
	However, having followed this process over the last few months, I doubt that he will reverse course.
	What will most likely happen is that in the next week, we'll know whether the Senate committee will issue these subpoenas.
	And once they do, we'll have to see whether the counties will comply, or again, just like over in Arizona, whether they'll fight back in court.
	However, Senator Mastriano said that if they do fight back in court, he expects to win, if the question is whether him and his committee have the authority to conduct an election audit.
	Here's what he said.
	If the challenge becomes something else, though, obviously that will drag out in court.
	So a judge, in the end, will have to decide any debates that we have between counties and myself.
	Now, if you'd like to read more about what's happening over in Pennsylvania, including this full statement from that county, I'll throw it all into the description box below this video for you to check out, and all I ask in return is that you smash that like button.
	And now let's move on over and talk about Project Veritas.
	Just yesterday, a New York Supreme Court judge issued a ruling which became the second victory for Project Veritas in their defamation lawsuit against the New York Times.
	What happened was that the New York Times was attempting to dismiss the case against them, which the court has just denied.
	This means that Project Veritas will now be allowed to depose the New York Times under oath, and they said that once they do, they will do it on camera and then release the footage to the public.
	And so, in order to get more details about this case, as well as generally about what Project Veritas is doing, I took the opportunity while I was down in Texas to sit down and interview James O'Keefe, who is the founder of Project Veritas.
	Take a look.
	News has become a system-supported, I think, propaganda function that, as many have said in history, you know, manufactured the public's consent or engineered the consent of the viewers.
	And I think there's a very serious symbiotic relationship between those in power and the media.
	And rather than investigate the people in government, rather than sort of challenge those in authority, they echo those in authority, particularly in big tech like Twitter and Facebook and Google and the FBI and the DOJ.
	And these institutions are really working in tandem with the people on cable news.
	So what we need to do is the independent citizens need to kind of do the journalism themselves.
	And we do undercover work and we do whistleblowing because it makes us less dependent on the leaker, on the person from the inside.
	We effectively blow the whistle on these organizations, and we've had a We've had people inside education, tech, all sectors of society come to us.
	Recently, two female anchors and reporters for news stations have come to us and resigned live on the air.
	It's a pretty heroic thing for them to do, and you're going to see a whole legion of whistleblowers come forward in the future.
	Well, maybe this is a fairly broad question, but do you think it's always been this way, that the media and those in power have worked hand-in-glove together, or is it the case that It's gotten worse.
	It's gotten exacerbated recently.
	Or is it the case that with technology as it is now, more people can just know about it?
	Well, it's a very good question.
	I think Watergate in the 70s was a turning point in many regards.
	Journalism became more decorous and less aggressive.
	I think undercover workers abandoned in the 80s with Mike Wallace in 60 Minutes.
	I think newspapers have been decimated.
	Local news has been decimated.
	In many regards, the profit motive of journalism is also to blame.
	The commercial imperative is incompatible with the news business to a certain degree.
	And you also just have this idea of CNN inviting these corrupt people to be contributors to their air as opposed to investigate these folks.
	So I think there's a huge opportunity for citizens to do the watchdog journalism in a way they never have.
	And the people come to us because they say, and Epoch Times is a great job.
	You guys do a great job too.
	There's nowhere else for these sources to go.
	So they go where people will tell their stories.
	So I view it as an opportunity, not a bad thing.
	And it does require courage.
	It does require persistence and kind of an indefatigable mentality where you're never going to give up.
	And they'll come after you, but the message is as long as you don't back down and don't settle and don't compromise on your principles, you will be successful.
	With the New York Times lawsuit that you currently have pending, and you had that recent victory where you passed the motion to dismiss, I was reading the actual judge's ruling, and I was talking to a colleague, and they were telling me that that might have very broad implications because the judge was basically saying that in a straight news piece, they were masquerading opinion as fact or as rather straight news, and that could have broader implications for the media industry.
	Yeah, the New York Times actual defense was that they were...
	They actually defended themselves in court by saying their statement, the videos are deceptive, was an opinion.
	And it's an A1 section news article written by a reporter who's a news reporter.
	And in the litigation, they admit that they're news reporters, not opinion writers.
	So the implications are staggering because Facebook utilizes USA Today, which utilizes the New York Times as their fact-checking mechanism.
	But they're injecting opinions into news articles.
	So this New York State Supreme Court judge says it's unethical to masquerade this opinion as fact.
	What is that if not deception and disinformation?
	Again, the New York Times reporting in that article that I'm a disinformation specialist.
	What is that if not disinformation when you present an opinion as fact?
	So the fact that Facebook banned, effectively banned our videos based upon this news article, which now the New York Times say, well, that was just our opinion.
	It's kind of this vortex of propaganda.
	I mean, it's a circularly sourced propaganda, which is the issue at hand.
	And that's why people don't do anything.
	That's why good people don't tell the truth.
	That's why people are afraid of doing anything in this country, because they're taking on these people who buy ink by the barrel, who partner with Twitter and Google and Facebook to tar and feather you as a propagandist.
	Well, that's precisely what they're doing, and that's what this judge is saying in his order.
	And that's why this case is such a big deal.
	And that's why the New York Times is going to be dragged kicking and screaming before they are ever going to let me take them to trial, which is precisely what I'm going to do.
	And I've said at the last CPAC, I'll say it again, that the New York Times offers me money to settle the case.
	I'll tell them to go to hell.
	Do you have a date for the deposition?
	We will know in the next week or two there's an order coming down from the judge setting the date and time and the circumstances because this is very significant.
	As you may or may not know, we're one of the few plaintiffs since 1964, the New York Times v.
	Sullivan decision that established the actual malice standard I'm one of the few plaintiffs that have gotten this far, and depositions of New York Times reporters is a big deal.
	They're under oath, they're on video for hours and hours, being held accountable for their lies and omissions.
	So we'll know more in the next couple weeks on when the depositions will occur.
	Now, if you would like to watch that full-length interview for yourself, I'll be posting it over on Epic TV within the next few days.
	Again, that link to Epic TV will be right there at the very top of the description box for you to check out.
	And now, I would like to end with a small announcement similar to what I announced yesterday.
	If you and your family still watch television, I mean like over-the-air cable, satellite, sitting with your family around the couch-style television, well, I have good news for you.
	Because you can now watch our program, Facts Matter, on television, specifically on NTD. NTD is an awesome cable news network.
	They're actually a sister media to the Epoch Times, and they report the news in a solid, professional way, without all the spin and all the forced narratives that you get from other cable news networks.
	I mean, they're a phenomenal alternative to the CNN, Fox News, MSNBC monopoly on cable news.
	And now you can watch our program on there at the 7.30 p.m.
	Eastern time slot.
	Now they're still growing.
	You can currently watch NTD over the air in 32 different states, but they also have coverage on Roku as well as Apple TV. So if you'd like to see whether their signal reaches you, you can go on over to ntd.com forward slash tv, type in your zip code and see how you can watch it.
	And if your cable provider doesn't carry them, you can actually send them a message and request it.
	You know, they actually take those things pretty seriously.
	So again, that's ntd.com forward slash tv.
	I'll throw a link to it in the description box as well.
	And now lastly, if you haven't already, smash that like button for the YouTube algorithm.
	subscribe to this YouTube channel if you haven't already in order to get honest news content delivered directly into your YouTube feed while YouTube still allows it also if you're already subscribed hit that notification bell so you can be notified of any videos as we release them if you have an Instagram account follow me at epic times roman I post behind the scenes research as well as spicy memes And then until next time, I'm your host, Roman from the Epoch Times.

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