The extent of the conspiracy to overturn the 2020 presidential election is coming into sharper focus due to a new document obtained by the Los Angeles Times.
"Supporters on the fringes of former President Trump’s circle explored seeking sweeping authority after the 2020 election to enlist armed private contractors to seize and inspect voting machines and election data with the assistance of U.S. Marshals, according to a draft letter asking the president to grant them permission," the newspaper reported. "The previously undisclosed 'authorizing letter' and accompanying emails were sent on Nov. 21, 2020, from a person involved in efforts to find evidence of fraud in the election that year. The documents, which were reviewed by The Times, are believed to be among those in the possession of the House Select Jan. 6 committee, which is scheduled to begin public hearings Thursday."
The newspaper reports the letter appears to be an early iteration of a draft executive order presented to Trump on Dec. 18, 2020 by lawyer Sidney Powell and former national security advisor Michael Flynn. Patrick Byrne, the former Overstock.com CEO who was funding election denying efforts, was also in attendance.
The two were led into the Oval Office by Garrett Ziegler, an aide to Peter Navarro who on Friday said he expects to be indicted.
"The email and attached draft letter were sent to Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan and cybersecurity expert Jim Penrose by Andrew Whitney, a British technology entrepreneur who made his way inside Trump’s circle in 2020 after he sought the president’s support for Oleandrin, a toxic botanical extract Whitney claimed was a miracle cure for COVID-19. Logan, who went on to conduct an audit of election results in Maricopa County, Ariz., and Penrose worked for weeks after the 2020 election with a group including Powell, Flynn and Byrne that sought access to voting machines in an attempt to find proof of election fraud," the newspaper reported.
In February, Politico obtained emails showing Flynn and retired Army Col. Phil Waldron workshopping memos to seize voting machines.
"The Dec. 16 version of the order would have tasked the Pentagon with seizing voting machines, rather than private companies. The draft dated the following day gave the U.S. Department of Homeland Security responsibility for taking possession of the machines and data," the LA Times reported. "Neither of those versions of the draft order would have given private companies the authority to seize or examine the machines, or allowed their workers to be armed during the process, though the drafts did call for the assistance of the National Guard."
Read the full report.