#Democrats & #election-integrity experts worry that, with #Republicans expected to suffer ​losses in the #midterms, the #Trump admin aims to suppress voting & pave the way to challenge losses with more baseless claims of election fraud.

#law #ElectionLaw #ElectionInterference #BigLie #coup #ConspiracyTheories #Jan6 #SeditiousConspiracy

Early last summer, McNamara asked officials in the #Commerce Dept to consider the potential designation of #Dominion chips & software as a national security risk, the 2 sources said.

At the time, McNamara headed an #ODNI task force that worked with officials across the admin to investigate vulnerabilities in the nation’s #VotingMachines. The 2 sources said McNamara spoke about the issue to senior officials at the Commerce Dept, which is run by Secy Howard Lutnick.

#Trump #law #ElectionLaw

Olsen, who Democratic senators are seeking to remove from his post, aimed to invalidate #Dominion #VotingMachines before the #midterms, the 2 sources said.

Others involved in the deliberations included Paul McNamara, a senior aide of Trump’s spy chief #TulsiGabbard, & Brian Sikma, a special assistant to #Trump who works on his Domestic Policy Council, acc/to 1 of the 2 sources…. Olsen has worked closely with Gabbard's Office of the Director of National Intelligence (#ODNI).

#law #ElectionLaw

A Reuters investigation earlier this month found admin officials & investigators in at least 8 #states have sought confidential records, pressed for access to voting equipment ⁠& re-examined voter-fraud cases that courts & bipartisan reviews have rejected. #Trump & Republican allies are also pursuing unprecedented plans to redraw #election districts earlier than usual to secure advantages in the November #midterms congressional elections.

#law #ElectionLaw #ElectionInterference #BigLie #Jan6

The plan eventually collapsed, however, because Olsen & other admin staffers working with him failed to provide evidence to justify such a move, two ​of the sources said.

The episode is part of a far-reaching #Trump admin push to encroach on state & local governments’ authority to run #elections – which is granted to them in the US #Constitution to prevent the executive branch from seizing #power.

#law #ElectionLaw #ElectionInterference #BigLie #ConspiracyTheories #Jan6 #SeditiousConspiracy

White House adviser Kurt Olsen, a lawyer #Trump has tasked with proving widely debunked #election-rigging #ConspiracyTheories, pushed the plan to target #Dominion Voting Systems machines. The idea emerged, the sources said, as Olsen & other ‌officials brainstormed about how the #FederalGovernment could take control over #elections from US #states, an idea publicly aired by Trump.

#law #ElectionLaw #ElectionInterference #BigLie #coup #Jan6 #SeditiousConspiracy