Konnech withdraws defamation lawsuit against watchdog group that accused it of subverting US elections with Chinese communists



An election software company based in Michigan sued an election integrity watchdog group and its leaders last year for defamation over claims it had conspired with the Chinese Communist Party and subverted American elections.

After months of denial and litigation, the company has withdrawn it suit.

What's the background?

Konnech is an election software company based in Michigan. It licenses election software utilized by various municipalities and counties across America.

TheBlaze previously reported that Eugene Yu, the founder and CEO of Konnech, was arrested on Oct. 4 and charged on suspicion of data theft, having allegedly stored "critical information that [U.S. election] workers provided on servers in China."

Yu was also charged with grand theft by embezzlement of funds exceeding $2.6 million.

According to prosecutor Eric Neff, the crimes allegedly committed by Konnech amounted to the "largest data breach in United States history."

The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office dropped the charges in November, citing "potential bias" in the investigation.

The alleged bias was in reference to the nature of the complaint that first prompted prosecutors to take a hard look at Konnech. According to the DAO, the complainant was Gregg Phillips of the Texas-based voter integrity group True the Vote.

Konnech had sued Phillips and True the Vote's founder, Catherine Engelbrecht, for defamation prior to Yu's arrest.

Engelbrecht and Phillips claimed "Konnech, its founder, and employees are 'Chinese operatives,' who are spearheading a 'Red Chinese communist op against the United States,' that Konnech is tired to the Confucius Institute,' ... that Konnech obtained contracts with certain U.S. city and county voting districts after bribing public officials, and that the Chinese Communist Party is somehow controlling elections through Konnech," according to the Sept. 12 suit.

The Houston Chronicle reported that the lawsuit also responded to the accusation that Konnech had enabled Chinese state actors to access a server in China that contained sensitive personal information belonging to over 2 million U.S. election workers.

Konnech backs off

Lawyers for Konnech contacted True the Vote on April 18 indicating that the company was dropping its suit, then asked the federal judge who had replaced former presiding Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt to dismiss the case "without prejudice" the following day.

Uncover DC indicated that the withdrawal took place one day after the Engelbrecht and Phillips launched Open.Ink, an indexed repository of historical and national security documents for citizen journals, which includes a special collection of Konnech documents.

Following the withdrawal, True the Vote stated, "Konnech's litigation was meritless and intended to harass this organization. They have failed."

The group indicated it is now "evaluating our options with regard to holding them accountable for their unwarranted actions. We believe Konnech dismissed its lawsuit because it saw that it would lose."

Engelbrecht said in a statement, "Konnech's aggressive litigation to shut down all conversation about their activities resulted in the wrongful imprisonment of Gregg Phillips and me. It required the intervention of a higher court to release us. We are more dedicated than ever to our mission of fostering a public conversation about voting integrity."

Former presiding Judge Hoyt had both Engelbrecht and Phillips thrown in jail on Oct. 31 after they refused to give up the name of one of their confidential sources as the defamation case unfolded. Their source had reportedly provided them with proof that the scandal-plagued election software company Konnech had compromised and stored American data in China.

Hoyt ultimately recused himself from the case in February.

"This was an unfounded defamation and unlawful computer access case that saw us strip-searched and placed in solitary confinement," Phillips said. "While it is encouraging to see progress being made, the serious issues surrounding the spread of misinformation, improper detainment, and judicial misconduct cannot be overlooked. Our commitment to seeking justice remains steadfast."

Phillips recently told Steve Bannon on his "War Room" podcast that the Konnech saga is far from being over, stressing, "[Konnech] cannot get out of this. There is no way possible out of this."

He added that Yu, although let off the hook in November, may also be in for more trouble: "LA District Attorney and prosecutors have every single thing they need to put this guy in jail for the rest of his life — all of this election data and all of the private information [on American poll workers] are on Chinese servers," added Phillips.

\u201cVoting Integrity Prevails | Charges DROPPED Against @TrueTheVote After Judicial Misconduct \nhttps://t.co/wZp4YWmhfp\u201d
— Grace Chong \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Grace Chong \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1682096302

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Federal judge locks up True the Vote leaders for refusing to divulge source who allegedly showed them proof of China-linked Konnech's malfeasance



A pair of election integrity activists were thrown in jail on Monday after being held in contempt of a federal court in Houston.

What are the details?

Federal Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt had True the Vote leaders Catherine Engelbrecht and Gregg Phillips thrown in jail after they followed through on their refusal last week to give up the name of one of their sources — an individual they allege is a confidential FBI informant.

According to the duo, the unnamed informant helped provide them with proof that the scandal-plagued election software company Konnech had compromised and stored American data in China.

The overarching case in which the duo is embroiled concerns their alleged defamation of Konnech.

True the Vote accused Konnech of colluding with the Chinese communist regime, of storing confidential American data on servers in China, and of other wrongdoings.

Konnech, whose founder and CEO was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of committing some of the very crimes that True the Vote accused him and his company of, wants Engelbrecht and Phillips to provide the names of anyone else who may have been involved in their efforts to expose the company for its alleged malfeasance.

Konnech successfully obtained a restraining order to that effect, which Hoyt found the duo in contempt of on Oct. 27.

The lawsuit

The Texas Tribune reported that there are two primary interpretations of the fight between True the Vote and Konnech: It's either "a right-wing elections group allegedly defaming a small technology company, or a small technology company whose alleged security flaws were exposed by a right-wing elections group."

True the Vote had accused Konnech of being both "owned by the Chinese Communist Party" and involved in "subversion of our elections."

Konnech, Inc. filed a defamation lawsuit against True the Vote on September 12, suggesting that Engelbrecht's and Phillips' accusations of wrongdoing were damaging and would prove "particularly problematic in light of the upcoming 2022 midterm elections, for which Konnech has contracts to provide election logistics software for voting districts across the country."

The suit claimed that True the Vote founder and president Catherine Engelbrecht and board member Gregg Phillips "have intentionally, repeatedly, and relentlessly attacked Konnech and its founder Eugene Yu with Defendants' unique brand of racism and xenophobia by their completely baseless claims that Konnech, its founder, and employees are 'Chinese operatives' ... spearheading a 'Red Chinese communist op against the United States.'"

The suit also claimed that the defendants' "false accusations of treason, espionage, bribery, and election fraud ... are completely fabricated and constitute defamation per se."

Extra to denouncing the duo for alleged racist attacks, the suit emphasized that "Konnech does not, and has never, stored any actual customer or poll worker data on any server in China as Defendants falsely claim."

Since the lawsuit was filed, a great deal has occurred that appears to strengthen True the Vote's claims.

Konnech's founder and CEO Eugene Yu was arrested on Oct. 4 and charged on suspicion of data theft, having allegedly stored "critical information that [US election] workers provided on servers in China."

Yu was hit with additional charges for grand theft by embezzlement of funds exceeding $2.6 million.

Konnech CEO Eugene YuCourtesy of Ingham County Records Center

Prosecutor Eric Neff said that the crimes allegedly committed by Konnech amounted to the "largest data breach in United States history."

Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón's office suspects the latter is more likely, stating in an Oct. 13 felony complaint that Eugene and other employees at Konnech were servicing Los Angeles County "using third-party contractors based in China."

Cloak, dagger, and restraining order

Hoyt granted Konnech's request for a temporary restraining order against the election integrity duo in September, ordering them: not to disclose any information downloaded from Konnech's computers; to return all data, handwritten or otherwise, obtained from Konnech's computers; and to identify all persons with any information or data from Konnech's computers.

To comply with the restraining order, Phillips and Engelbrecht had to name all of the individuals they allegedly met at a Dallas hotel meeting in January 2021. It was at the meeting they had allegedly seen evidence that Konnech was improperly storing U.S. poll workers' sensitive data in China.

The San Antonio Current reported that earlier this month, Engelbrecht and Phillips provided the name of one source, Mike Hasson.

True the Vote attorney Brock Akers told Hoyt on Oct. 6 that Hasson was in "danger from forces of the Chinese Communist Party" and that releasing his name could jeopardize his safety.

Konnech's attorneys, convinced Hasson hadn't operated alone, pressed the duo for additional names, suggesting that previous testimony and the language of certain True the Vote social media posts had indicated the existence of additional contacts or "analyst[s]" besides Hasson.

Engelbrecht told Konnech's attorney Nathan Richardson of the Houston office of Kasowitz Benson Torres, "Every name I give you gets doxxed and harassed ... I know what happened to Mike after his name was released." She then suggested Hasson was rumored to have gone into hiding.

Votebeat Texas reported that the True the Vote duo, when pressed to identify the other unnamed person at their January 2021 meeting, proved unwilling, suggesting that he was a "confidential informant" for the FBI whose safety was contingent upon his anonymity.

Hoyt found them in contempt, stating that they had until Oct. 31 at 9 a.m. to divulge the source's name.

'The right thing isn't always easy'

On Thursday evening, Phillips wrote on Truth Social, "Doing the right thing isn't always easy but it's always right. We were held in contempt of court because we refused to burn a confidential informant or our researchers. We go to jail on Monday unless we comply."

In a Saturday post, Phillips complimented Engelbrecht, writing that despite being ridiculed by Konnech's lawyers, "She answered with confidence and pride in her Country. She didn't buckle. She stood against the abuse and the oppressors. I'm so proud to be her friend, her colleague, and her brother in Christ."

The True the Vote account posted Sunday evening that if Engelbrecht and Phillips were ultimately arrested, "We won't be gone forever."

Sure enough, Engelbrecht and Phillips were marched out of the courtroom in Houston and thrown in jail on Monday, where they will remain until they cough up the alleged informant's name.

Engelbrecht and Phillips can be seen on video emptying their pockets and then being walked out of court on Monday by U.S. Marshals:

\u201cBREAKING: Catherine Engelbrecht from True the Vote and Gregg Phillips recorded by what appears to be a covert camera. Short clip/More details to come. Word on the street; \u201cHold the line; you\u2019re going to love what comes next.\u201d \ud83d\udc47\ud83c\udffc\u201d
— Robert Heredia (@Robert Heredia) 1667235105

While Engelbrecht and Phillips' fate is yet to be seen, Konnech's Chinese links continue to be explored and Yu will appear in court on Nov. 17.