Halderman is no fan of Donald Trump, and from his public statements I would surmise that his politics are normal academic Lefty, but intellectually honest normal academic Lefty. Professor Halderman becomes a key part of our story now, because Professor Halderman was commissioned to perform a professional analysis of Dominion Voting cybersecurity and cyber-integrity, or lack thereof. His 25,000 word monograph on the subject may turn out to be the MacGuffin of this pivotal moment in American history.

Here is how that came to be:

In August 2017 Georgia politicians (Democrat and Republican) filed a federal lawsuit against Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger on the grounds that use of Direct Electronic Voting systems (aka "DREs" aka "voting machines") violated their Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process and equal protection. The case is Curling v. Raffensperger.