Former President Donald Trump ordered lawyer Rudy Giuliani to call the Department of Homeland Security to see if they could seize voting m...
Former President Donald Trump ordered lawyer Rudy Giuliani to call the Department of Homeland Security to see if they could seize voting machines in key states in an attempt to overturn the 2020 Presidential Election, new accounts have shown.
Mr Giuliani made the call six weeks after the election to the department's acting deputy secretary, who told the president's lawyer that he lacked the authority to seize the machines, according to The New York Times.
Evidence presented to the House select committee investigating the January 6 riot has also found that Trump drafted two executive orders - one directing the Department of Defense (DOD) to seize the machines.
The other assigned the task to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), multiple sources told CNN Monday.
While it is unclear who drafted the executive orders, insiders claim the idea to use the federal government to access voting machines in states Trump lost came from retired Col. Phil Waldron and retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser whom he pardoned after being convicted for lying to the FBI.
The National Archives has provided the executive order requesting the DOD seize the machines to the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot.
It is unclear if the committee has obtained the second version of the document, which instructs the DHS to conduct the task, however, numerous people have confirmed the order does exist.
After news broke of the first executive order, House select committee member Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat, told CNN: 'It's an extraordinary document, and we have a lot of questions about it.'
'We've got no evidence at this point that there were steps taken in the Department of Defense to implement that memo but ... it's a lawless document and really breathtaking in its approach,' she added.
Neither of the executive orders were issued.
Advisers to then-President Donald Trump drafted two versions of an executive order aiming to seize voting machines as part of the administration's alleged attempt to undermine the 2020 election
Former President Donald Trump ordered lawyer Rudy Giuliani (pictured January 28 in New York) to call the Department of Homeland Security to see if they could seize voting machines in key states in an attempt to overturn the 2020 Presidential Election, new accounts have shown
While it is unclear who drafted the executive orders, insiders claim the idea to use the federal government to access voting machines in states that Trump lost came from retired Col. Phil Waldron (left) and retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn (right)
The House committee is investigating the roles of attorney Rudy Giuliani and political consultant Bernie Kerik, who worked with Giuliani after the election in the search for evidence of voter fraud.
It is not clear if any of the individuals being investigated were involved with the drafting of the executive orders. However, an insider told CNN Kerik recently testified to the committee about the seizure efforts.
Reports also indicated that Giuliani had approached then-DHS second-in-command Ken Cuccinelli about seizing the voting machines after the election.
Cuccinelli - who earlier this month claimed his conversation with Giuliani 'never developed to the point of talking about an executive order including such action' - reportedly told the Trump adviser the DHS did not have the authority to carry out such requests.
Giuliani's attorney also claimed his client immediately shut down the idea of seizing voting equipment.
'As soon as he heard about this idea, he was vehemently against it, as was White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and then-President Trump,' Robert Costello, Giuliani's lawyer, said.
Sources familiar with the situation also allege Giuliani and his team continued to pursue additional avenues for overturning the election.
Flynn also touted the idea during a December 2020 interview, saying Trump 'could immediately on his order seize every single one of these machines around the country' and 'basically rerun an election' in states that he had lost. Trump and Flynn are pictured together at a rally in Colorado in October 2016
The executive order allowed the defense secretary to 'seize, collect, retain and analyze all machines, equipment, electronically stored information, and material records required for retention under' a US law relating to preservation of election records. (Pictured: Voting machines in Georgia which President Joe Biden ultimately won)
The House committee is also reportedly investigating the efforts to draft the orders and how the documents originated.
This includes investigating the roles of Waldron, Flynn and Trump's former lawyer Sidney Powell.
Officials claim Flynn and Powell advocated the idea for seizure of the voting machines during an Oval Office meeting in mid-December 2020. The meeting reportedly featured screaming matches between Trump's advisers.
Some advisers are said to have pushed back on various election-related proposals, including one that involved invoking martial law and naming Powell as special counsel to investigate voter fraud claims.
Flynn was reportedly 'adamant' that election equipment could be seized and 'personally reached out' to at least one senior DOD official in December 2020, seeking their help with his cause.
The Trump loyalist touted the idea during an interview with Newsmax, saying: 'He could immediately on his order seize every single one of these machines around the country on his order.'
'He could also order, within the swing states, if he wanted to, he could take military capabilities and he could place them in those states and basically re-run an election in each of those states. It's not unprecedented.'
Despite Flynn's claim, officials argue any operation of military or governmental personnel seizing voting equipment for political purposes would have been unprecedented in US history.
Flynn, Powell and Waldron did not comment to CNN about the allegations. They also did not immediately reply to DailyMail.com's request for comment.
The executive orders were drafted after Trump fell to President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
Biden won the election by securing 306 electoral votes and winning states like Pennsylvania and Georgia, which Trump had previously won in the 2016 election.
Trump's final electoral count tallied 232 votes and he repeatedly claimed the Democrats stole the election from him.
Analysts allege the executive order - which was dated Dec. 16, 2020 - could have kept Trump in office until mid-February 2021, had it been issued. However, instead his supporters held a riot at the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 as Congress attempted to certify the election (pictured)
Five people died in connection to the insurrection, and at least 100 law enforcement agents were injured. More than 700 people have been arrested for their alleged roles in the riots
According to Politico, which first unveiled the executive order earlier this month, the draft ordered the defense secretary to 'seize, collect, retain and analyze all machines, equipment, electronically stored information, and material records required for retention under' a US law relating to preservation of election records.
The news outlet alleges the executive order was consistent with proposals Powell made at the time. It was also reportedly written two days before Flynn, former Trump administration lawyer Emily Newman, and former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne met with Trump in the Oval Office.
The document - dated December 16, 2020 - also gave the DOD leader 60 days to write an assessment of the presidential election. Analysts allege that, if it had been executed, the move could've kept Trump in power until at least mid-February 2021.
However, the order was never issued and the Senate and House of Representatives met to move forward with certifying the results of the election on January 6, 2021.
In what was said to be the most violent attack on the Capitol since the War of 1812, supporters of the defeated Republican president forced lawmakers and Trump's own vice president, Mike Pence, to scramble for safety.
Five people died in connection to the insurrection, and at least 100 law enforcement agents were injured. More than 700 people have been arrested for their alleged roles in the riots.
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