Social media users shared online content claiming that AT&T had a contract to conduct a forensic audit of Dominion Voting Systems machines and that the December 25 explosion in Nashville, which damaged an AT&T building, to this audit was linked. These claims provide no convincing evidence and include conspiracy links that have been exposed.
Examples can be seen here, here and here.
Some shorter posts here and here say, ‘Wait, the Nashville bombing was at the AT&T data center just after they got the contract to audit the Dominion Voting machines? This is an interesting coincidence. ”
Some reports read: ‘So, the explosion was’ just ‘at the AT&T location where they’ just ‘controlled the supercomputer cooling system and housed and operated the dominion voting machines for forensic audit …’
While the investigation is ongoing, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has concluded that a man named Anthony Warner was responsible for the bombing and died in the blast (here, here ).
The blast in the heart of Nashville injured three people and damaged businesses, including an AT&T switch, that disrupted mobile, Internet and TV services in central Tennessee and parts of four other states (here).
AT&T AND DOMINION
The posts all tie AT&T with Dominion, holding the blast as alleged conspiracy. Some just say that AT&T had a contract to conduct a forensic audit of Dominion Voting Systems. Others add that the blast occurred when the voting machines were moved to Nashville, and that they are political links as evidence of a conspiracy. The report contains no links to evidence for their allegations.
A Dominion Voting Systems spokesman told Reuters in an email: “Dominion is appealing to the media and the public to reject the unfounded rumors spreading on social media, indicating that there is no evidence that there was no election-related connection to the Nashville blast. “
“Americans must continue to seek information from verifiable, reliable sources, such as law enforcement agencies,” Dominion Voting Systems added.
AT&T BUILDING
There is no evidence that the AT&T switch damaged by the blast housed a ‘supercomputer’ used here to change the outcome of the election.
Jim Greer, assistant vice president of corporate communications at AT&T, told Reuters in an email: “None of the things in the post are true.”
WILLIAM KENNERD AND AT&T
Some of the reports (here) try to link the explosion to Bill Clinton and Barack Obama by claiming that William Kennard, Obama’s EU ambassador and Clinton’s FCC chairman, is on AT & T’s board and the Nashville AT & T building property destroyed in the blast.
While Kennard served in the FCC and served as EU Ambassador, joining AT & T’s board of directors in November 2020 (here), Greer confirmed that Kennard is not ‘the former owner’ of the AT&T building. which was destroyed in Nashville as the posts claim.
It’s true that Kennard serves in the management of Staple Street Capital (not ‘Staple Street execs’ as the posts say). He also serves on the boards of Ford Motor Company, MetLife and Duke Energy Corporation (here).
CEREBRUS, STAPLE STREET AND THE PRAYERS
Some reports (here) say: ‘Dominion vote is owned by Cerberus Capital Management …. Cerberus is managed by Staple Street Execs. Joe Biden’s brother-in-law, Steven Owens, is the co-founder of Staple Street Execs with William Kennard (mentioned above). ”
Reuters found no evidence that Cerberus Capital Management (www.cerberus.com/) owns Dominion. One of the co-founders of Staple Street Capital (staplestreetcapital.com/), not Hootan Yaghoobzadeh, not ‘Staple Street execs’, worked at Cerberus before joining Staple Street in 2009.
Staple Street Capital has a managing director and co-founder named Stephen Owens. However, he is not bound to Joe Biden and is not his sister Valerie Biden Owens’ husband. Reuters Fact Check settled this claim earlier here.
Staple Street Capital has entered into an agreement with management to acquire Dominion in 2018 (here and here). A spokesman for Dominion Voting Systems confirmed by email to Reuters that Stephen Owens in Stapel Street has no family ties or business connections with Biden’s sister, Valerie Biden Owens.
While William Kennard serves on the board of Staple Street Capital, he is not one of the co-founders of the company as these posts claim (here).
“KRAKEN”
The report also mentions the ‘Kraken’ or ‘supercomputer’ and says that the cooling system for this computer is located in the AT&T building. This refers to the allegation that the supercomputer “Hammer” and the software program “Scorecard” were used to change votes in Biden’s favor in the presidential election in 2020. (here and here)
This conspiracy theory has been rejected by various experts as reported by Reuters here and other fact checkers, including Snopes, Factcheck.org and PolitiFact here, here and here.
The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has rejected the claim of an “election hacking and voice manipulation operation” known as ‘Hammer and Scorecard’. (here)
MISSION
Some reports said the explosion in Nashville was caused by a missile. Reuters dropped this claim here.
VERDICT
Untrue. Posts contain denial of conspiracy claims seeking to bind the Nashville Blast Dominion voting systems.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here.