WASHINGTON, DC – Federal authorities recently indicted two Iranian nationals for their alleged interference with the 2020 United States Presidential Election.
How Iran Tried to Undermine the 2020 US Presidential Election https://t.co/4UEjlurk0V pic.twitter.com/LI7J2TS2G7
— Paul Peterson (@paulpeterson192) November 19, 2021
The two Iranians whose indictments were unsealed on November 18th, Seyyed Mohammad Hosein Musa Kazemi and Sajjad Kashian, allegedly conducted what has been described by federal authorities as a cyberwar that had been launched on the American elections system.
The indictment claims that Kazemi and Kashian were able to somehow obtain confidential voter information, made several attempts to invade election-related websites, and sent out threatening emails to victims.
The indictment was made public after Assistant Attorney General Matthew G Olsen released a statement:
“This indictment details how two Iran-based actors waged a targeted, coordinated campaign to erode confidence in the integrity of the U.S. electoral system and to sow discord among Americans. The allegations illustrate how foreign disinformation campaigns operate and seek to influence the American public.”
The US Attorney in Manhattan, New York, Damian Williams, elaborated on the scheme in which the two Iranians have been charged in federal court. Williams said that there was what he referred to as a “coordinated conspiracy” to enter into election-related websites in eleven states.
Williams said that the two were able to succeed and download information on 100,000 voters in one of those states.
More foreign election interference, this time from Iran. https://t.co/9JRpCDBo94
— Michael J. Stern (@MichaelJStern1) November 19, 2021
Kazemi and Kashian were able to utilize that information and began an email campaign that was designed to play on the fears of the voters for either party.
For instance, if they were sending emails to a Democrat, they pushed the narrative that former President Donald Trump’s supporters were somehow going to forcefully win the 2020 election.
If the emails were to Republicans, Kazemi and Kashian pushed the narrative that the Democratic party was going to steal the election through various means. They also allegedly ordered the Democrats to change party affiliation to Republican and vote for President Trump.
Eeleyanet Gostar (aka Emennet Pasargad) on blast for Iran’s election interference efforts in 2020https://t.co/W8gNti86cJ
— Horkos @ the Centre for Unilateral Analysis (@WylieNewmark) November 18, 2021
If they failed to do so, they were threatened with bodily harm.
For those that may have been leery of the threats, Kazemi and Kashian claimed they were with the “Proud Boys.” This label would make the average Democrat concerned because, to them, the “Proud Boys” are a racist domestic terrorist organization.
Democratic Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner spoke on the issue on the 18th. He said:
“Our intelligence officials have continually warned that other countries would seek to follow Russia’s 2016 playbook.
Today’s charges and sanctions against several Iranians believed to be behind a cyber campaign to intimidate and influence American voters in the 2020 election are further evidence that attempts to interfere in our elections will continue, and we must all be on guard against them.”
Along with the indictment, the United States Treasury Department announced that they were placing financial sanctions on both Kazemi and Kashian, an Iranian cyber company that was involved as well as four of that company’s executives.
While federal authorities do not believe that they are in the United States, they are hoping that freezing the financial assets will at least make it harder for them to leave Iran which is where they are believed to be.
Additionally, the United States is offering up to a $10 million reward for any information “on or about the activities of Seyyed Mohammad Hosein Musa Kazemi and Sajjad Kashian.”
Federal authorities are asking anyone with information regarding this investigation or the people that are involved to contact your local FBI office, nearest American Embassy, or Consulate.
Election integrity? In Washington, a vote written on a napkin counts as a valid ballot
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This right here is why Republicans are pushing for election integrity measures.
According to Post Millennial, a recent election review training conducted in Seattle, Washington found some…shall we say interesting…factoids about what exactly constitutes a legal ballot in that state.
After discovering the rather lax qualifications for a valid ballot, one must question the integrity of elections in Washington State.
According to PM, during the training where participants were reviewing ballots which were improperly completed, an official with King County elections actually said that if someone were to mail in a candidate’s name written on a napkin, including the position they were running for, that ballot would be counted as an official ballot and the vote counted.
Seriously.
The ballot in question was for a voter who was attempting to vote for Seattle Democratic mayoral candidate Lorena Gonzalez in this month’s elections.
The “ballot in question involved an envelope with a missing ballot. Enclosed in the envelope was a newspaper clipping of Gonzalez. At the bottom of the clipping was a pen mark which looked like a check mark, along with the letter “L” apparently for “Lorena,” therefore it was apparently an acceptable ballot.
Another trainee in the room asked the election official about the napkin vote:
“So, even if someone took a napkin and wrote the office, the race, and their selection, that would be enough?”
“That would be enough and we would count that as a vote,” the official replied.
Gee, wonder why Washington State will never elect a Republican? Well, at least a real one.
This is what passes for a real ballot? You wonder why some states are trying to pass election integrity laws which take our voting privilege seriously, it’s no doubt to offset clown shows like this.
Former Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman (R) said that Washington is a “voter intent” state by law. In other words, voters are “not disenfranchised” if they mark a ballot differently than directed. Whenever a voter’s intent can be discerned, she said, the vote will be counted.
If you want a foray into the madness of this kind of system, read through the regulation…it’s mind boggling.
Of course Joe Biden just appointed Wyman to work in the White House and head up the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to “protect future elections from foreign and domestic interference.”
If it’s anything like Washington State’s “election integrity” efforts, we’re doomed. Wyman of course was picked by Biden because she’s a never-Trumper. She downplayed the former president’s claims of fraud in last year’s presidential election and called the audit in Arizona’s Maricopa County “political theater.” No wonder Biden chose her.
After the US Capitol siege on Jan. 6, Wyman rued her choice to stay as a Republican:
“I think every Republican elected official right now in the country is really having to do some soul searching about why they’re Republican, and what it means to them, and why they are a part of the party. I know that I’ve been doing that.”
Where it concerns voter fraud, she initially said, “If that’s what my party stands for now, I don’t know that I can continue being a Republican, because that’s not what republicanism is about.”
She later tried to walk back those comments, PM said.
CNN says that Wyman will serve as a federal liaison to state and local officials and would offer “…resources and support to protect election infrastructure from hacking and voters from disinformation campaigns.”
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