Definite sign of panic: Pennsylvania acting Secretary of State issues illegal orders to obstruct audit of 2020 election
July 11, 2021
Yesterday, I wrote that it looks like Pennsylvania Dems are panicking over the audit of the 2020 election announced by State Senator Doug Mastriano, chair of the state senate’s Intergovernmental Operations Committee. Two days after the announcement of the audit, President Biden suddenly was scheduled for a trip to the Keystone State “to deliver remarks on actions to protect the sacred constitutional right to vote.” Bringing the “The Big Guy” to pressure officials to obstruct access to the data which the state senate has an absolute right to examine.
But that was just half the story.
An unelected statewide official, the acting Secretary of State, acted quickly, even before Biden’s trip was announced, to illegally obstruct the audit by commanding local officials to deny access to evidence. Sundance of The Conservative Treehouse, who is on top of this story, writes:
[T]he Acting Secretary of State in Pennsylvania, Veronica W. Degraffenreid, has issued a state-wide directive seeking to block any Pennsylvania legislative attempt to audit the 2020 election results [pdf LINK].
As Senator Mastriano noted when announcing the audit, his committee has the absolute legal right to this data.
As set forth in Pennsylvania Senate Rule 14 (d), each standing committee is empowered with the authority to inspect and investigate the books, records, papers, documents, data, operation, and physical plant of any public agency in this Commonwealth, including county boards of elections.
The United States Constitution Article 1, Section 4, Clause 1 invests the power over federal elections in state legislatures:
The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.
So, the timeline is:
July 7: Senator Mastriano announces his audit.
July 8: Acting Secretary of State Degraffenreid orders local officials to obstruct access to the evidence.
July 9: President Biden’s handlers schedule a trip to Pennsylvania, obviously to weigh in and force local officials to participate in the cover-up of evidence.
Senator Mastriano is not intimidated:
As Sundance notes:
The law is on the side of the legislature. The PA Senate has the power and legal authority, but Governor Wolf, Secretary of State Degraffenreid and State Attorney General Josh Shapiro just don’t care.
They can, and will, lose every court battle and still they will not comply.
Like vampires, they fear sunlight.
*** This article has been archived for your research. The original version from American Thinker can be found here ***
