Election witness Melissa Carone has had the courage to testify, and as a result, she is being held up to ridicule.

The Michigan House Oversight Committee hearings have provided some interesting information. Contrary to what Attorney General Bill Barr has stated (“to date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election.”) and what the Associated Press has reported ("Donald Trump’s persistent, baseless claims"), there appears to be overwhelming evidence of fraud.  It is repeatedly asserted, "Claims of widespread voter fraud and accusations that Democrats engaged in a coordinated scheme to steal the election have been repeatedly debunked."  The repetition does not necessarily make it true.

An extremely effective witness was Melissa Carone.  

Carone has been pilloried because she was not sufficiently obsequious when responding to our elite legislators.  It is claimed that she must have been drunk.  She appeared to be "slurring her words."  Her past has been gone over with a fine-tooth comb.  She has a criminal history.  Everything is being done to discredit her except for an analysis of what she is alleging.  Her testimony is just dismissed.  

In defense of Carone's critics, she does sound like a "valley girl."  This is a dialect that frequently reveals a lack of seriousness.  However, a close review of her testimony does not suggest that she lacks intelligence.  It also does not reveal any slurred speech.  At the 6:49 point of the video Carone had to assist Rep. Cynthia Johnson find the word “oath.”  Perhaps Rep. Johnson had been drinking.  Carone's major failing was that she was not sufficiently humble.

The chair of the committee, Matt Hall, asked her, "But why is that we’re not having more people come forward?"  Her response explains why so few people have come forward: "I’ll tell you why.  My life has been destroyed.  My life has been completely destroyed because of this.  I’ve lost family. I’ve lost friends. I’ve been threatened.  My kids have been threatened.  I’ve had to move.  I’ve had to change my phone number.  I’ve had to get rid of social media.  Nobody wants to come forward.  They’re getting threatened. Their lives are getting ruined.  I can’t even get an actual job anymore because Democrats like to ruin your lives.”  She is not the only person to allege intimidation.  

Carone was completely aware of the fact that she could be prosecuted for filing a false affidavit.  She testified, "I am a mother.  I have two children and I have two degrees.  I would never, I don’t know any woman in the world that would write an affidavit under oath just to write it.  You can go to prison for this."  Whether Carone is telling the truth or not is irrelevant to her fate.  If the Deep State is allowed to pursue its opponents, they will all be headed for prison.  They have defied the Deep State and are therefore on the side of evil in its eyes.  

It is not the job of private citizens to investigate voter fraud.  It is the job of the Justice department.  That is what the American taxpayers pay them for.   Yet there are several examples of whistleblowers who have gone to the FBI and have been ignored.  Carone claims she originally reported her findings to the FBI, and they did not respond.  A Minnesota state representative, Steve Drazkowski claims he contacted the FBI and was "stonewalled."  His allegations only became public because he contacted James O’Keefe of Project Veritas.  A postal worker, Richard Hopkins, who signed an affidavit claiming voter fraud was not ignored.  He was visited by Agent Strasser recorded saying, "I am trying to twist you a little bit."  Hopkins was placed on unpaid leave.  His story only went public because of Project Veritas.  These are only the stories that have been publicized. There are possibly many more.  

John Dietrich is a freelance writer and the author of The Morgenthau Plan: Soviet Influence on American Postwar Policy (Algora Publishing).  He has a Master of Arts Degree in International Relations from St. Mary’s University.  He is retired from the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.  He is featured on the BBC's program "Things We Forgot to Remember:" Morgenthau Plan and Post-War Germany.

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