SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Dozens of people call to stop the vote count in Pennsylvania due to baseless claims of fraud against President Donald Trump on November 5, 2020 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
'Chilling': Trump Allies Sought to Send Armed Private Contractors to Seize Voting Machines
"This was a failed coup and these people are still plotting," said one observer.
Jun 04, 2022
Allies of former President Donald Trump sought to have voting machines seized by armed private contractors in the weeks after the 2020 election, according to new reporting.
As the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday, draft executive orders dated December 16 and 17, 2020 regarding the seizure of voting machines appear to have started as an "authorizing letter" written on November 21.
"A private sector organization has no authority to go and seize state government equipment... And we are looking at a document that says that's okay."
The letter was written by "supporters on the fringes" of Trump's circle to three people who were involved in the former president's numerous failed attempts to find evidence that President Joe Biden's victory in the election was fraudulent.
The document sought to grant authority to three companies--including two which were also involved in auditing the election results--to send armed workers to seize all voting machines and election data at will.
The letter called for the U.S. Marshals to be involved in the effort and for people involved to be armed "since most of the operations would be conducted under hostile conditions."
The request "implies that whoever drafted this... views this as some sort of warlike event," Christopher Krebs, the former U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director who Trump fired for affirming that the election had been secure, told the Times.
The Times reported on the previously undisclosed letter less than a week before the congressional committee investigating the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol is scheduled to begin public hearings.
The document is likely to be among the previously unseen material that will be revealed in the primetime hearings, according to the Times.
The draft executive order which was ultimately presented to Trump on December 18, 2020 by attorney Sidney Powell, former national security advisor Michael Flynn, and former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne shocked government watchdogs when it was reported earlier this year.
That draft did not include language regarding armed workers from private companies seizing the machines and election data, but did call for assistance from the military.
Trump ultimately did not sign the executive order.
Still, the existence of the letter showing how the former president's allies approached their efforts to circumvent the democratic process was called "chilling" by Krebs.
"You're talking about issuing letters of marque effectively to a private sector organization to go do some sort of activity on behalf of that executive office of the president," Krebs told the Times. "A private sector organization has no authority to go and seize state government equipment. The federal government doesn't even have that authority, particularly in the context of administering elections. And we are looking at a document that says that's okay."
Aimee Allison, founder of pro-democracy group She the People, said the letter is new evidence that the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol when lawmakers were certifying the 2020 election results, was "a failed coup."
\u201cThis was a failed coup and these people are still plotting. https://t.co/ms7bjkbP3z\u201d— Aimee Allison (@Aimee Allison) 1654370973
"And these people are still plotting," she said.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Allies of former President Donald Trump sought to have voting machines seized by armed private contractors in the weeks after the 2020 election, according to new reporting.
As the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday, draft executive orders dated December 16 and 17, 2020 regarding the seizure of voting machines appear to have started as an "authorizing letter" written on November 21.
"A private sector organization has no authority to go and seize state government equipment... And we are looking at a document that says that's okay."
The letter was written by "supporters on the fringes" of Trump's circle to three people who were involved in the former president's numerous failed attempts to find evidence that President Joe Biden's victory in the election was fraudulent.
The document sought to grant authority to three companies--including two which were also involved in auditing the election results--to send armed workers to seize all voting machines and election data at will.
The letter called for the U.S. Marshals to be involved in the effort and for people involved to be armed "since most of the operations would be conducted under hostile conditions."
The request "implies that whoever drafted this... views this as some sort of warlike event," Christopher Krebs, the former U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director who Trump fired for affirming that the election had been secure, told the Times.
The Times reported on the previously undisclosed letter less than a week before the congressional committee investigating the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol is scheduled to begin public hearings.
The document is likely to be among the previously unseen material that will be revealed in the primetime hearings, according to the Times.
The draft executive order which was ultimately presented to Trump on December 18, 2020 by attorney Sidney Powell, former national security advisor Michael Flynn, and former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne shocked government watchdogs when it was reported earlier this year.
That draft did not include language regarding armed workers from private companies seizing the machines and election data, but did call for assistance from the military.
Trump ultimately did not sign the executive order.
Still, the existence of the letter showing how the former president's allies approached their efforts to circumvent the democratic process was called "chilling" by Krebs.
"You're talking about issuing letters of marque effectively to a private sector organization to go do some sort of activity on behalf of that executive office of the president," Krebs told the Times. "A private sector organization has no authority to go and seize state government equipment. The federal government doesn't even have that authority, particularly in the context of administering elections. And we are looking at a document that says that's okay."
Aimee Allison, founder of pro-democracy group She the People, said the letter is new evidence that the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol when lawmakers were certifying the 2020 election results, was "a failed coup."
\u201cThis was a failed coup and these people are still plotting. https://t.co/ms7bjkbP3z\u201d— Aimee Allison (@Aimee Allison) 1654370973
"And these people are still plotting," she said.
Allies of former President Donald Trump sought to have voting machines seized by armed private contractors in the weeks after the 2020 election, according to new reporting.
As the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday, draft executive orders dated December 16 and 17, 2020 regarding the seizure of voting machines appear to have started as an "authorizing letter" written on November 21.
"A private sector organization has no authority to go and seize state government equipment... And we are looking at a document that says that's okay."
The letter was written by "supporters on the fringes" of Trump's circle to three people who were involved in the former president's numerous failed attempts to find evidence that President Joe Biden's victory in the election was fraudulent.
The document sought to grant authority to three companies--including two which were also involved in auditing the election results--to send armed workers to seize all voting machines and election data at will.
The letter called for the U.S. Marshals to be involved in the effort and for people involved to be armed "since most of the operations would be conducted under hostile conditions."
The request "implies that whoever drafted this... views this as some sort of warlike event," Christopher Krebs, the former U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director who Trump fired for affirming that the election had been secure, told the Times.
The Times reported on the previously undisclosed letter less than a week before the congressional committee investigating the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol is scheduled to begin public hearings.
The document is likely to be among the previously unseen material that will be revealed in the primetime hearings, according to the Times.
The draft executive order which was ultimately presented to Trump on December 18, 2020 by attorney Sidney Powell, former national security advisor Michael Flynn, and former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne shocked government watchdogs when it was reported earlier this year.
That draft did not include language regarding armed workers from private companies seizing the machines and election data, but did call for assistance from the military.
Trump ultimately did not sign the executive order.
Still, the existence of the letter showing how the former president's allies approached their efforts to circumvent the democratic process was called "chilling" by Krebs.
"You're talking about issuing letters of marque effectively to a private sector organization to go do some sort of activity on behalf of that executive office of the president," Krebs told the Times. "A private sector organization has no authority to go and seize state government equipment. The federal government doesn't even have that authority, particularly in the context of administering elections. And we are looking at a document that says that's okay."
Aimee Allison, founder of pro-democracy group She the People, said the letter is new evidence that the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol when lawmakers were certifying the 2020 election results, was "a failed coup."
\u201cThis was a failed coup and these people are still plotting. https://t.co/ms7bjkbP3z\u201d— Aimee Allison (@Aimee Allison) 1654370973
"And these people are still plotting," she said.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.