Jan. 6 panel probing Trump’s role in effort to seize voting machines: report

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection is investigating what role former President Trump may have had in proposals to take voting machines following the 2020 election, The New York Times reported, citing three people with knowledge.

One of the aspects that the committee is reportedly looking into is what involvement Trump may have had in helping create a national security finding, which could have provided national security agencies a legal basis to seize voting machines.

Though the Times noted it was not clear what documents the committee was using to pursue such an inquiry, the newspaper did point to one first published by Politico last month, called “Presidential Findings to Preserve Collect and Analyze National Security Information Regarding the 2020 General Election.” 

Dated Dec. 16, 2020, the document reads, “I, Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, find that the forensic report of the Antrim County, Michigan voting machines, released December 13, 2020, and other evidence submitted to me in support of this order, provide probable cause sufficient to require action under the authorities cited above because of evidence of international and foreign interference in the November 3, 2020, election.”

The documents orders the Defense secretary to seize and collect all voting machines, though the Times notes the foreign interference assertions are baseless.

The Hill has reached out to the committee and a spokesperson for Trump for comment.

Updated: 8:51 p.m.