Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Leaked Memo Shows How Trump Planned to Seize Voting Machines in Coup Attempt

Leaked Memo Shows How Trump Planned to Seize Voting Machines in Coup Attempt
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

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.

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.






It laid bare the hypocrisy of the GOP's support for Trump.



The trove of documents delivered from the National Archives to the January 6 Committee remains under review.

More from People/donald-trump

Carrie Fisher and Billie Lourd
Chelsea Lauren/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images

Billie Lourd Shares Sweet Photo Of Her Kids To Honor Late Mom Carrie Fisher For Star Wars Day

Star Wars Day, celebrated annually on May 4th, is an unofficial international holiday started by and for fans of the Star Wars franchise. A pun of "May the Force be with you," "May the Fourth Be With You" first appeared in print in 1979.

For years, fans, franchise actors, and production members have shared messages and memes on social media to commemorate the day.

Keep ReadingShow less
Marco Rubio; Alternative for Germany (AfD) demonstration
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Omer Messinger/Getty Images

Germany Claps Back After Marco Rubio Criticizes Them For Surveilling Far-Right Party

On Friday, MAGA Republican President Donald Trump's Secretary of State—and acting National Security Adviser—decided to criticize an ally for their handling of their own national security.

After learning Germany took action to protect against right-wing extremists, Rubio took to social media to attack their efforts and tell them what they should do while praising a White supremacist, neo-Nazi organization.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump; Alcatraz Island
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

Trump Ripped After Declaring That He Wants To Reopen Alcatraz As A Prison

President Donald Trump was criticized after he declared he wants to reopen Alcatraz as a prison "to house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders"—only to receive immediate pushback for yet another of his harebrained ideas.

A former prison located on a small island of the same name just off the coast of San Francisco, Alcatraz once held some of the country’s most notorious criminals and was considered one of the most secure facilities of its time.

Keep ReadingShow less
Guy cringing
Photo by Kawin Harasai on Unsplash

People Reveal What Made Them Immediately Think 'Nope' While On A Date

The dating scene is meant to be fun, but sometimes it's really heartbreaking or awkward.

But every once in a while, something happens that feels so gross, there's no way there's going to be another date after that.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Trump Blasted After Sharing Bonkers AI Image Of Himself As The Pope

President Donald Trump was criticized after he shared an AI-generated image of himself in papal attire just days after telling reporters that he'd "like to be pope" following the death of Pope Francis.

Trump said that he himself "would be my number one choice" to be the next pope after he was asked who he’d like to see become the next pontiff. That would never, ever happen—and disrespects the billions of Catholics around the world who are in mourning.

Keep ReadingShow less