On October 28, 2024, Free Speech For People filed a Writ of Mandamus in the Court of Common Pleas of Fulton County, Pennsylvania, seeking to force the county to turn over communications between the county and leaders of the election denialist effort to overturn the 2020 election. In the process of filing the legal action, Fulton County disclosed that it was represented by Stefanie Lambert, a Michigan attorney, currently under indictment for her role in a conspiracy to access voting systems in Michigan.

Several months ago, Free Speech For People filed Right to Know Requests for all communications between officials in Fulton County and individuals and entities central to the campaign to subvert Joe Biden’s 2020 election win, and install Donald Trump as president.  The request sought communications between county officials and Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, Doug Logan, MyPillow’s Mike Lindell, Patrick Byrne, Conan Hayes, Fox News, NewsMax, One America News, and others.

Fulton County, Pennsylvania has been a hotbed of activity for Trump allies to unlawfully access voting systems and to take unauthorized copies of voting software in support of efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The mostly Republican county in southern Pennsylvania allowed technicians, hired by Trump allied attorneys, to access the voting equipment on at least three occasions from 2020 through 2022. Free Speech For People is seeking communications between the county and parties central to the effort to overturn the 2020 election.

Fulton County refused to turn over any records as required by Pennsylvania State Law 65 P.S. §§ 67.101–67.3104. Free Speech For People, represented by Marni Jo Snyder Esq., of Law Offices of MJ Snyder, LLC, appealed the refusal to the Pennsylvania’s Office of Open Records (OOR). On September 4, the OOR issued a final determination that the records must be produced in 30 days. The county refused to produce the records, compelling FSFP to sue to force their production.

“Through court filings and other public records productions, we know there was coordination and cooperation between Fulton County officials and key actors that tried to steal the presidency after the 2020 election,” said Susan Greenhalgh, senior advisor for election security at Free Speech For People. “Our requests seek to obtain that communication through 2024 in order to shed light on if and how Fulton County continues to coordinate with the cohort of election deniers, and how they may be planning to undermine the 2024 election should Trump lose again. The fact that Stefanie Lambert is still representing the county is deeply disquieting and reflected in the county’s refusal to follow state law.  We should anticipate Fulton County may try to undermine the election and certification in Pennsylvania should Vice President Harris win the state.”

According to court filings and public records, Lambert was appointed “special counsel” for all election related matters in Fulton County in April of 2022 on a pro bono basis and is currently still in that position despite not being licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Fulton County has been at the center of the multistate scheme by Trump allied election deniers to unlawfully take copies of voting system software, with at least three different breaches of the voting equipment. The Secretary of State decertified the equipment and issued a directive ordering counties not to permit unauthorized access to voting systems. In response, Fulton County initiated a tangled legal battle, which it ultimately lost and was ordered to pay $1 million in attorneys’ fees.

Read our Complaint here

Read our Mandamus Exhibits here.