The existence of a second draft of an executive order written by former President Donald Trump‘s advisers ordering the Department of Homeland Security to secure voting machines has been revealed.
Earlier in January, the first draft of the executive order to seize voting machines was released by the National Archives as part of the Jan. 6 select committee’s investigation into the Capitol attack. That draft was directed to the Department of Defense.
Neither draft was issued and it’s unclear who the author was.
The idea to use the government reportedly came from Col. Phil Waldronand Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn. There is speculation that Trump’s former attorney Sidney Powell could have written the drafts, as they echo Powell and Flynn’s statements in a December 2020 meeting.
“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,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-California), who is on the House select committee, told CNN after the first draft was obtained.
The committee is also investigating Trump attorney Rudy Giulianiand Bernie Kerick, who aided Giuliani in searching for evidence of voter fraud after the 2020 election.
Giuliani met with Ken Cuccinelli, who was second in command at Homeland Security, to talk about seizing voting machines. Giuliani’s attorney, Robert Costello, said that they were both very against the idea, “as was White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and then-President Trump,” Costello added.
While none of the plans in the draft were carried out, Trump continued to consider appointing a special counsel to investigate election fraud during his time in office.
