by Sharon Rondeau
(Nov. 11, 2022) — Several sources are reporting that Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon has dropped two felony charges against Eugene Wu, founder, president and CEO of the Michigan-based election software company Konnech.
Wu was arrested in Michigan on October 4 at Gascon’s request “as part of an investigation into the possible theft of personal identifying information of those workers,” according to the LA County DA’s website.
Konnech denied any wrongdoing.
A developer of software used to organize the data of poll workers, Konnech’s product, Pollchief, is utilized by Los Angeles County and 31 other “clients,” according to the company’s website.
In August Konnech was accused by the non-profit True the Vote founders Gregg Phillips and Catherine Engelbrecht of improperly transferring U.S. poll-workers’ personal information to servers in Communist China.
On Wednesday Reuters was the first to report Gascon’s withdrawal of the charges, with NPR following suit on Thursday. Both sources indicated having spoken or received statements from Gascon’s office directly. On Thursday The Washington Examiner issued a report, citing Reuters as its source.
According to NPR, the City of Detroit was “terminating its contract” with Konnech in light of the accusations, although a date of termination was not provided.
In its October 4 press release, Gascon stated that no votes were affected by Konnech’s alleged improper storage of data.
Following the announcement of Wu’s arrest, True the Vote issued a statement reading, in part:
True the Vote is honored to have played a small role in what must have been a wide ranging and complex investigation. The organization is profoundly grateful to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office for their thorough work and rapid action in this matter.
On September 12 Konnech filed suit against True the Vote, alleging “defamation.” Subsequent court proceedings saw Engelbrecht and Phillips jailed after Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt found the two in contempt of court for failing to provide the name of a witness to the presentation Phillips reportedly attended demonstrating Konnech’s alleged improper storage of the data.
Engelbrecht and Phillips appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ordered them released Sunday night.
On Friday The Post & Email contacted the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office to confirm the Reuters report but received no response in light of the absence of an updated press release on the matter. On Saturday morning we sent a request for comment through TTV’s website “Contact” form and will report if one is received.