Jan 23, 2022 - Politics & Policy

Jan. 6 panel chair: Trump planned to use military to seize voting machine

Ivana Saric

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chair of the committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday his panel has information that points to the Trump administration making plans to have the military "potentially seize voting machines."

Driving the news: Politico this week was the first to report that a draft executive order directing the secretary of Defense to seize machines was among the documents that Trump lawyers tried to stop the Jan. 6 committee from obtaining.

Thompson said the panel has already spoken to former Attorney General Bill Barr on the matter.

What they're saying: Thompson said the committee has also spoken to people at the Department of Defense to follow up on the allegations.

"We are concerned that our military was part of this big lie on promoting that the election was false."
"We have information that between the Department of Justice, a plan was put forward to potentially seize voting machines in the country and utilize Department of Defense assets to make that happen."

Thompson said there was no operational plan, but that "the draft itself is reason enough to believe that it was being proposed."

"Our job is to get to the facts and circumstances of 'How far did they go?'"

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Jan. 6 panel chair: Trump planned to use military to seize voting machine

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