More than a year after former President Donald Trump began falsely insisting the 2020 election was "stolen" from him, Trump's own efforts to steal the election are coming into sharper focus.
It's already public knowledge that Trump and his allies pressured local election officials—such as Georgia's Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger—to deliver him a victory at odds with the election results. And Trump unceasingly spouted fantasies of election fraud to sow doubt in the legitimacy of American democracy—disinformation that would culminate in a deadly failed insurrection against the United States Capitol.
But recent revelations signal that Trump's and his allies' efforts were much further reaching than originally thought. Forged elector certificates in a number of swing states Trump lost were sent to the National Archives by local Republicans in hopes of persuading then-Vice President Mike Pence that there were dueling slates of electors, and that he had the authority to throw out these votes and deliver a victory to Trump. The Michigan Republican Party co-chair, who signed one of these forged certificates, said at a public event that the Trump campaign was behind that effort.
Now, one of the documents Trump's lawyers failed to shield from the House Committee investigating the insurrection revealed a plot to seize voting machines through executive order and appoint a special counsel to investigate the 2020 election.
BREAKING: The 1/6 committee just obtained a letter that was prepared for Trump’s signature in December 2020 that was going to direct the Secretary of Defense to order the military to seize voting machines.
This is one of the docs Trump was trying to block Biden from releasing. pic.twitter.com/HHZUVKu5Tx
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) January 21, 2022
Betty Woodruff Swan of Politico, who first reported the story, detailed that the order is in line with calls from pro-Trump lawyer and conspiracy theorist Sidney Powell, whose deranged claims that election software companies smuggled in fake ballots have resulted in multiple defamation lawsuits. Powell sought to be the special counsel investigating the election and also urged Trump to seize voting machines.
The order not only would've given the Defense Secretary the power to seize voting machines, but would've given him 60 days to deliver a report on the security and validity of the 2020 election. Because the letter is dated December 16, this almost certainly would've resulted in an effort to keep Trump in power for weeks past the constitutionally mandated transfer of power on January 20.
Swan's report includes a reaction from Liza Goitein of the Brennan Center for Justice, who described the effort as "the legal equivalent of a kid scrawling on the wall with crayons."
Social media users agreed, but the absurdity of the order didn't diminish the threat it represented.
A coup attempt https://t.co/CPz1JP9WN1
— Gilead is real, Texas has proven it (@TheFutureIsVgan) January 22, 2022
It is 100% certain that he would have been inaugurated for a second term on January 20 if this plan had been implemented. https://t.co/CGTTiqXa6E
— John Scotus (@John_Scotus) January 22, 2022
So this draft order would have given the power of assessing the election to someone unconfirmed by the Senate and only an acting Secretary. Cool. Cool. https://t.co/MrbxgypGTw
— Andrew Gallaher (@andrew_gallaher) January 21, 2022
This is legit some third world dictator BS. How much more evidence do we need? When do we get to watch this orange slug get frog-marched into a police van, already? https://t.co/hoRFmjVNtX
— John Lee (@johnleestudio) January 21, 2022
The idea of this is troubling in of itself. https://t.co/FPQPThUUei
— Marc 2Xor3X Sweat Shirt (@thegoodfello) January 21, 2022
So, directing DOD to unilaterally seize voting machines, ballots, adn records kind of violates Posse Comitatus Act, no? https://t.co/wRhzCF6Rns pic.twitter.com/9wq92eFUxd
— Chris Krebs (@C_C_Krebs) January 21, 2022
It laid bare the hypocrisy of the GOP's support for Trump.
For folks who think a vaccine mandate in the face of a global pandemic is dictatorial and may have missed this, here's reporting on a draft executive order from Il Douché that would have had the military seize voting machines after the 2020 election. Stuff like that. https://t.co/5bcpkk79bT
— Jeffrey Wright (@jfreewright) January 23, 2022
If Obama had done some shit like this it would be news everyday all day as it should but a white man did it so meh. We were inches away from an autocracy. https://t.co/4gYym0g203
— JG (@jg_major) January 22, 2022
How can you support a party that blatantly works to destroy the sacred precepts of democracy? https://t.co/WqXYjcI0Zo
— JK (@bbq03) January 23, 2022
The trove of documents delivered from the National Archives to the January 6 Committee remains under review.
