http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0412040222dec04,1,1925530.story?coll=chi-news-hed
The FBI is paying attention to Jeff Fisher's allegations that the Republicans stole the election through hacking the machines. This is important because it strengthens Fisher's contention that a hacking did occur.
Yesterday, I wrote that no evidence for Fisher's claims existed outside his own websites. I based this conclusion on Fisher's statement of a few weeks ago in which he said he was going to talk to the FBI. But, as reported in the Chicago Daily Tribune, hardly a friend to progressivism, the FBI has listened to Fisher and is now investigating.
From the FBI's position, they have hundreds of cases to investigate. So if you want them to pay attention, you have to show them something. We are a long ways from proving that vote-hacking did occur. However, Fisher has enough evidence to get them to pay attention.
The article reports that Fisher bases his case on what he says are intercepted e-mails suggesting that election workers created bogus voter registrations and had these "voters" vote for Bush in Florida. Just a few weeks ago, Fisher made claims of vote-hacking based on a reform school run by a rabid Bush supporter in South Miami hacking into the voting machines. So if you're a skeptic, the problem with Fisher is that he bases his allegations on shifting sand and Internet rumors.
The stakes for Fisher are high. If charges are filed, the outcome of the election is thrown in doubt. If the proof comes quickly enough, the 2004 results will be overturned. If the investigation proceeds slower but the trail leads back to the President, that could mean his impeachment and removal from office and a Democratic majority for decades to come.
On the other hand, the right will probably try to put Fisher on trial, not the election workers. They will try really hard to produce evidence suggesting that he is not a reliable person. And if these charges are proven to be false or hoaxes, the right will be screaming for Fisher to be tried for perjury.
For those of you who don't have a login, the piece is buried in a story about dead voters. Here is the relevant text:
Also in Florida, Democratic congressional candidate Jeff Fisher, who was defeated Nov. 2, said he had seen e-mails outlining a Republican plot to steal the presidential election. The plot, he said, involved election workers who created bogus voter registrations. The workers then rigged computers to show those ghost voters had cast ballots for Bush.
The FBI confirmed that Fisher had filed a complaint and that agents were investigating.
Thanks to dmac and Super Simian for providing me with the link.