HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania county faces more than $1 million in legal fees after violating a court order by allowing unauthorized inspections of its Dominion voting machines, according to a report issued Friday by Commonwealth Court President Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer.

Fulton County, along with its attorney Thomas J. Carroll, was found to have breached a state supreme court directive that barred any further access to the machines amid ongoing litigation. The court-appointed special master, Judge Jubelirer, recommended that Fulton County and Carroll cover the legal costs incurred by Dominion Voting Systems and the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth as a result of their actions.

The recommended sanctions include approximately $149,000 that the county alone should pay to the state, and $136,000 to Dominion. Additionally, both the county and Carroll would be jointly responsible for $562,000 to the state and $188,000 to Dominion. The sanctions were suggested after the county repeatedly failed to respond to fee submissions, waiving any objections to the amounts claimed.

The legal battle began after former President Donald Trump won Fulton County in the 2020 election, but his unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud prompted the county’s Republican commissioners to work with Trump allies to inspect Dominion’s voting machines. When it was revealed that the machines had been accessed by a third party without proper oversight, the Pennsylvania Department of State decertified the machines, removing them from future elections.

Fulton County’s continued defiance of court orders, including allowing further inspections and delays in the legal process by Carroll, led to the current sanctions. The machines have since been relocated to a secure facility in Alabama, as ordered by the state supreme court.

Judge Jubelirer noted that the county’s failure to contest the fee filings left the claims unopposed. "The county has waived any objections to the accuracy or reasonableness of the claimed fee and cost amounts," she wrote. The judge also excluded certain fees, such as those related to an emergency motion filed by Dominion, from the recommended sanctions.

Fulton County has remained active in the underlying litigation, pursuing various legal actions, including appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, these efforts have not prevented the accumulation of substantial legal fees, which the county is now poised to pay pending the state supreme court's final decision.