
But now, of all things, the Center is finding itself at the heart of a story which has broken related to the voting issue. The problem came up when the Georgia Secretary of State, Brian Kemp, was notified by state election officials that computer technical specialists had found Georgia's election data system was hacked ten times from an IP address located at Glynco prior to November 15th. It was reported to the Department of Homeland Security, the parent organization for Glynco, which responded with multiple communications, each different from the other, first saying that a computer program went haywire before eventually admitting what Georgia already knew, the source was Glynco. DHS indicated it was from a computer in a supporting contractor organization but would not identify the company or employee involved.
After the election, when the challenges were completed, Kemp wrote to President-elect Trump, asking for his help after inauguration in finding the truth. So, isn't it interesting that on January 17th the Inspector General of Homeland Security, John Roth, wrote to Kemp explaining that he had launched an investigation into the hack and the details. For DHS to enter a state computer system requires agreement from the state, something which Georgia has never granted.
In reality, Georgia's Kemp is one of the leaders of state election systems challenging Secretary Jeh Johnson's declaration that state election systems were critical national infrastructure which would allow direct federal involvement. The unilateral action was taken on January 6th without support from any of the fifty state election leaders who understand that election procedures are a state responsibility. Suffice it to say that this ruling won't stand for long with retired General John Kelly now the new Director of Homeland Security. If the IG finds violations known or supported without appropriate action by DHS officials, charges could be filed. Stay tuned for more.