Truth, Inspiration, Hope.

US Attorney who Investigated discarded Military ballots resigns

Neil Campbell
Neil lives in Canada and writes about society and politics.
Published: December 31, 2020
U.S. Attorney David J. Freed in 2012 (Image: Wikimedia Commons / CC 3.0)

A Pennsylvania federal prosecutor who investigated discarded mail-in ballots for the 2020 Presidential Election resigned from his position on Wednesday.

U.S. Attorney David J. Freed was the chief federal law enforcement officer for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, according to his letter of resignation. His office announced in September they had found “a small number of military ballots were discarded.”

Of the nine ballots recovered, seven were for President Donald Trump. The other two ballots that had “been discarded were previously recovered by elections staff, reinserted into what appeared to be their appropriate envelopes, and then resealed,” said a letter sent from Freed to Luzerne County Bureau of Elections.

Investigators in the incident also “recovered four apparently official, bar-coded, absentee ballot envelopes that were empty. Image: Wikipedia Commons

Two of those envelopes had the completed attestations and signatures on the reverse side.  One envelope with a handwritten return address was blank on the reverse side.  The fourth empty envelope contains basic location information and the words ‘affirmation enclosed’ on the reverse side.”

Most of the military ballots and their envelopes recovered were found in the trash

“As you know, the appropriate method for processing received military ballots is to securely store the ballot, unopened, until such time as ballot pre-canvassing can begin, which is in no event earlier than 7:00 a.m. on Election Day.  Opening a military or overseas ballot, or an absentee or mail-in ballot for that matter, violates the controlling statutes and is contrary to Pennsylvania Department of State guidance,” said the letter dated Sept. 24.

“Our goal, that I am sure you share, is to ensure that every properly cast ballot is counted.”

The investigation has long been criticized in big media as “misleading and inaccurate” because Freed’s office originally released a statement incorrectly stating all nine ballots cast were for Donald Trump. Freed issued a revised statement three days later, amending the count to seven. The votes cast on the ballots that were reinserted into envelopes and resealed are unknown.

The handling of military ballots and mail-in ballots have been at the root of multiple eye-witness testimonies given to both the Michigan and Georgia Senate Committees on election irregularities. 

Many election workers who stepped forward with sworn affidavits testified that military ballots were not able to be read by Dominion Voting Systems’ scanners and had to be manually re-completed; while mail-in ballots went through a process different from in-person votes, with a separate chain of custody.

According to Epoch Times, Freed’s office declined to comment on the status of the investigation. 

Freed did not give a reason for his resignation, but stated in his letter, “I have witnessed first-hand the fortitude and grace of victims of crime, and have taken to heart the awesome responsibility of speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves.” 

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Bandler, a veteran of 30 years in the Middle District office, will take Freed’s place.

Follow us onTwitter or subscribe to our email list