A viral video circulating on X/Twitter [21] presents court testimony and claims about Dominion voting systems that appear dramatic but have been comprehensively debunked by federal courts. The "military intelligence expert" cited in the video—codenamed "Spyder"—was exposed as Joshua Merritt, an IT consultant who "kept washing out of courses" and never completed intelligence training. [1] The attorneys who filed these claims were sanctioned $175,000+ and referred for disbarment. Every single lawsuit based on these allegations was dismissed.
Video Transcription
The analyzed video (@TheSCIF watermark) compiles court testimony fragments and expert statements regarding alleged irregularities in Dominion voting systems. Below is the complete transcription provided for analysis:
If I'm remembering correctly, there were several states involved.
And which time period are you referring to?
This was 2020 before or after the election during
The Election in your examination of any of these Dominion systems have you seen any indication of non-election personnel remotely accessing a Dominion system.
Can you tell us about that? I too have reviewed a series of emails produced by Dominion in which they're discussing remoting into Gwinnett County, Georgia
You also mentioned Dominion remotely connecting to election systems but you don't have any evidence that occurred in Georgia
I've seen a lot of Dominion emails. I have had to translate Dominions from Serbian to English to verify the technical questions that were being asked about them
So it's your testimony there is evidence of Dominion remotely accessing Georgia election equipment? Yes, on Gwinnett County it was included with stuff that I was researching and reading through
Considering Colorado, Michigan was also involved and there were other ones
To your understanding is Dominion able to remotely connect to these election systems? Yes. Are they able to do that without detection? And are you aware of any instances in which that has occurred? Yes
[Discussion of Colorado file transfer server, database configuration, and engineering change orders without documentation]
[Female Witness] I estimated that somewhere between 80% and 90% were going into Joe Biden. Throughout the day it kept making me sicker every time I saw another Biden, Biden, Biden. 100%. I find that statistically impossible
The video presents testimony fragments without revealing that: (1) the primary witness "Spyder" was later exposed as unqualified, (2) no evidence was ever produced, (3) the attorneys were sanctioned for filing false claims, and (4) every lawsuit was dismissed.
Part I: The "Spyder" Deception
The most damaging testimony in the video comes from a witness presented in court filings as a "former U.S. Military Intelligence expert" and "electronic intelligence analyst with the 305th Military Intelligence Battalion." This witness—initially protected by the pseudonym "Spyder"—claimed to have detected foreign server traffic and Serbian email communications. [1]
The Redaction Failure
The witness's identity was meant to remain sealed. However, the plaintiffs' attorneys made a critical error: while they blacked out his name in the visible text, they failed to scrub the PDF metadata. A bookmark in the electronic court filing explicitly labeled the document with the name: Joshua Merritt. [2]
Claimed vs. Actual Credentials
| Claimed in Court Filing | Official U.S. Army Record |
|---|---|
| "Electronic Intelligence Analyst" | Never held the MOS of an Intelligence Analyst |
| "Trained by 305th Military Intelligence" | Enrolled but "kept washing out of courses" – did not graduate |
| "Military Intelligence Expert" | Discharged as Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic (MOS 63W) |
A spokesperson for the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence provided a rare public correction: "He kept washing out of courses... He's not an intelligence analyst." [1]
Following exposure, Merritt acknowledged to the Washington Post that the description of him as an "intelligence analyst" was "wrong"—but blamed the attorneys' clerks for the false credential. [3]
U.S. District Judge Linda Parker ruled that calling Merritt a military intelligence expert was not an innocent mistake but "a lie by Plaintiffs' counsel." The court found the attorneys violated Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 by failing to verify his background. [1]
Part II: The ECO Conspiracy Theory
The video references "Engineering Change Orders" (ECOs) and changes to election system databases as if they were evidence of fraud. In reality, ECOs are the federally mandated mechanism for maintaining certification—not bypassing it. [4]
How ECOs Actually Work
The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) defines a "de minimis change" as a modification that does not materially alter system reliability or operation. The ECO workflow involves:
- Identification: Manufacturer identifies a necessary minor change (e.g., display fix)
- VSTL Review: An accredited Voting System Test Laboratory (like Pro V&V) inspects the code
- EAC Approval: The system retains certification only after federal review [4]
Georgia October 2020 Case Study
The video likely references a real incident: On September 28, 2020, a UI display issue was discovered in Georgia affecting races with 20+ candidates. Here's what actually happened:
- October 5, 2020: Dominion submitted the fix to the EAC
- October 7, 2020: Pro V&V verified it was de minimis—fixing the display, not touching vote-counting logic
- Court Ruling: In Curling v. Raffensperger, the court found the State followed federal protocols [7]
Voting system software is compiled in a "Clean Room" environment at the VSTL. Each file gets a cryptographic hash—a digital fingerprint. If a single line of code were altered by a hacker, the hash would change entirely, alerting officials. [8]
Part III: The "Blue Shift" Phenomenon
The female witness in the video claims she saw "80% to 90%" of ballots going to Biden and found this "statistically impossible." This reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the "Blue Shift"—a well-documented procedural phenomenon, not fraud. [1]
Why Mail-In Ballots Skewed Democratic
- Legal Restrictions: In Michigan and Pennsylvania, Republican-controlled legislatures prohibited processing mail-in ballots before Election Day
- Partisan Behavior: President Trump repeatedly discouraged mail-in voting; Democrats encouraged it during COVID-19
- Result: When a batch of 20,000 mail-in ballots from Detroit was processed, it naturally skewed 80-90% for Biden—this is a procedural inevitability, not an anomaly [1]
Expert Testimony Misrepresented
The plaintiffs' own expert, Dr. William Young, analyzed the data and found the shift was "unexpected" based on historical trends. But the attorneys' complaint changed this to a claim of 190,000 "excess" and "likely fraudulent" votes. Judge Parker ruled this was a sanctionable misrepresentation: unexpected ≠ fraudulent. [1]
Part IV: The "Serbian Connection"
The video references "translating Dominion emails from Serbian to English" and "remoting into" election systems. These claims derive entirely from Joshua Merritt's testimony—which, as established, came from a witness with fabricated credentials. [1]
No Corroborating Evidence
- No packet captures: No network logs or server evidence was ever produced in court
- No independent verification: No cybersecurity firm confirmed Serbian IP traffic to election systems
- Dominion contractors: While Dominion has employees globally, election-night traffic to foreign servers was never substantiated [17]
"The SCIF" Confusion
The video is watermarked "@TheSCIF"—a media entity (podcast) discussing national security. [15] This should not be confused with actual government SCIFs (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities). Notably, discussions in government SCIFs about election fraud concluded there was no evidence of foreign interference. [12]
Part V: Mellissa Carone's Testimony
The female witness describing "Biden, Biden, Biden" ballots matches the profile of Mellissa Carone, a contract IT worker for Dominion who became a viral sensation after testifying before the Michigan legislature. [11]
Claims vs. Evidence
Carone claimed she witnessed poll workers running ballots through tabulators "eight to ten times" consecutively, inflating Biden votes. [1]
The Poll Book Constraint: Election integrity relies on "balancing the poll book." The number of voters checked in must match the number of ballots tabulated. If a worker ran 50 ballots through 10 times, the tabulator would record 500 votes—creating a 450-vote discrepancy that would be immediately flagged during canvassing.
Wayne County Results: The actual canvass showed imbalances of 1-4 votes per precinct (due to paper jams/clerical errors)—not the tens of thousands Carone's claims would require.
In King v. Whitmer, the court found Carone's allegations "simply not credible." No other observer—Republican or Democrat—corroborated seeing ballots scanned ten times. The judge concluded she misinterpreted standard jam-clearing procedures as fraud. [1]
Part VI: The Sanctions Aftermath
In August 2021, Judge Linda Parker issued a historic sanctions order against Sidney Powell, Lin Wood, and seven other attorneys:
- $175,000+ in legal fees paid to the City of Detroit and State of Michigan
- Referral to state bars for disbarment or suspension
- Finding that the lawsuit was "a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process" [19]
Sidney Powell subsequently pleaded guilty in the Georgia election interference case and was sentenced to probation. [16]
Every claim in this video—"Spyder's" expertise, remote Serbian access, ECO manipulation, and "impossible" statistics—was rejected by federal courts. The attorneys who filed these allegations were sanctioned for presenting lies and fabricated credentials. No evidence of Dominion fraud has ever been substantiated.