By Brad Friedman on 12/12/2004, 2:07pm PT  

· Conyers Issues Blackwell Alert!
· Accusations of "Stonewalling", Wonders if they are "trying to hide" something!
· PLUS: Arnebeck Summons Curtis to Buckeye State!
· Events Now Moving Very Quickly on the Ground!

The office of Congressman John Conyers, the ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, has just rushed an alert out to the media in regards to recount efforts on the ground in Ohio. The release quotes Conyers as asking publicly if Ohio election officials are now attempting to hide information and accuses them of "stonewall[ing]" Judiciary Committee member's "search for truth"!

"We have now repeatedly seen election officials obstruct and stonewall this search for the truth," Conyers says in the release, adding "I am beginning to wonder what it is they are trying to hide." [emphasis added]

The Press Release, just issued, headlined "Conyers Alarmed at Efforts to Obstruct Ohio Recount Effort, Calls Witness to Monday Hearing to Detail Such Efforts", outlines the troubling reports, discussed here yesterday, of Ohio Sec. of State J. Kenneth Blackwell (also Co-Chair of the Ohio Bush/Cheney Re-Elect Committee!) reportedly attempting to obstruct efforts by Green/Libertarian Recount Volunteers in Ohio over the last several days.

Conyers, on behalf of Judiciary Committee Dems had previously announced on Friday that hearings would be held on Monday at the Ohio State Capitol Building on these matters. The location for those hearings was abruptly moved to the Columbus City Council after, Judiciary sources told The BRAD BLOG, "republican leaders in Ohio got word of the meeting and denied the request for a room" in the state capitol building.

From today's Press Release...

Yesterday, it came to the attention of the House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff that efforts to audit poll records in Greene County, Ohio are being obstructed by County Election officials and/or Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell. According to Joan Quinn and Eve Robertson, two election observers researching voting records, Greene County officials initially gave Quinn and Robertson access to poll records, and then abruptly withdrew such access. Greene County Director of Elections Carole Garman claimed that she had withdrawn access to the voting records at the direction of Secretary Blackwell. Regardless of who ordered the denial of this access, such an action appears to violate Ohio law. Later, at the same office, election observers found the office unlocked, and what appeared to be locked ballot boxes, unattended. Prior to the withdrawal of access to the books, observers had found discrepancies in election records, and possible evidence of minority vote suppression.

House Judiciary Committee Democrats wrote a letter to Blackwell on December 2 requesting answers to 34 questions about election irregularities and fraud in Ohio. This letter included questions about major discrepancies in Perry County poll books. Since that letter, additional documentation has been provided to the Democratic staff demonstrating similar problems in other counties.

Because of the urgency of the Greene County matter, Congressman John Conyers, Jr., Ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, has requested that Ms. Quinn testify at a hearing scheduled Monday in Columbus, Ohio. Ms. Quinn has agreed to do so and will also present sworn statements from corroborating witnesses. Conyers issued the following statement:

"The Recount effort is simply a search for the truth of what happened during the 2004 Presidential election in Ohio. We have now repeatedly seen election officials obstruct and stonewall this search for the truth. I am beginning to wonder what it is they are trying to hide."

As tomorrow's scheduled date for the Electoral College to cast their votes for U.S. President approaches, the Judiciary Committee hearings and other gatherings by various election-recount groups in Ohio are gaining much momentum.

Cliff Arnebeck, the attorney who is said to be filing a suit with the Ohio Supreme court this week to have the Ohio election results completely set aside, has spoken recently with Clint Curtis and has asked him to come to Ohio immediately to testify in regards to possible vote fraud in Election 2004.

Curtis is the Florida computer programmer who gained national attention this week after The BRAD BLOG revealed his stunning affidavit claiming that he was asked by Congressman Tom Feeney (R-FL) to create a "vote-rigging software prototype" while an employee at Yang Enterprises, Inc. in Oviedo, FL (Feeney's home district) back in October of 2000.

His story was revealed in a BRAD BLOG "Exclusive" originally published here at the beginning of last week.

YEI, and their "outside general counsel" (the former lawfirm of Congressman Feeney) have since issued two terse statements dismissing Curtis' charges.

...ALL STILL DEVELOPING...HARD...

UPDATE: Kerry letter sent to Ohio Elections Boards! Details...

[Originally published at BRAD BLOG TOO while The BRAD BLOG server was down.
Comments left by readers on the original article can be read at the above link.]
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