Headline Roundup • February 2nd, 2022
NYT, CNN Reports Say Trump Pressed to Seize Voting Machines After 2020 Election
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Reports that former President Donald Trump pressed to seize voting machines in the wake of his 2020 election defeat divided the media spectrum and made waves amid 2024 election speculation.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that six weeks after Election Day 2020, Trump asked his lawyer "to ask the Department of Homeland Security if it could legally take control of voting machines in key swing states." Also Tuesday, CNN (Left bias) reported that retired Col. Phil Waldron and retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser, "drafted two versions of an executive order to seize voting machines." The reports, which were both based on anonymous sources, follow a rally Trump held Saturday, where previewed a potential second term as president.
Left- and center-rated sources covered the news prominently, and often framed it as more evidence of the purported dangers Trump poses to democracy. Many also framed the alleged actions as an unprecedented attempt to use the government to enforce false election fraud claims. One writer for the Washington Post (Lean Left bias) argued that Trump "fully intended to do everything within his means" to stop Biden from taking office. Howard Kurtz (Center bias), a media columnist for Fox News (Right bias), said the Times's report revealed "a very troubling episode" and implied that Trump supporters would be upset "if the leader of another country had ordered the confiscation of voting machines in a disputed election." Few right-rated sources offered original reporting on the news.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Meridith Kohut for The New York Times
Six weeks after Election Day, with his hold on power slipping, President Donald J. Trump directed his lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, to make a remarkable call. Mr. Trump wanted him to ask the Department of Homeland Security if it could legally take control of voting machines in key swing states, three people familiar with the matter said.
Mr. Giuliani did so, calling the department’s acting deputy secretary, who said he lacked the authority to audit or impound the machines.
Mr. Trump pressed Mr. Giuliani to make that inquiry after rejecting...
REUTERS/Go Nakamura
Then-President Donald Trump was directly involved in efforts to use national security agencies to seize voting machines after his 2020 election loss, pressing his lawyer to make queries as advisers drafted two versions of a related executive order, media reports said.
The New York Times, citing three people familiar with the matter, reported on Monday that Trump directed Rudy Giuliani to call the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to determine whether it could legally take control of voting machines in key swing states.
That effort came amid two previously reported...
Jason Fochtman, Houston Chronicle via AP
A new report from The New York Times suggests that former President Donald Trump was more directly involved with a plan to seize voting machines during the 2020 election than previously thought.
The New York Times report said that Trump directed his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, to call the Department of Homeland Security to see if the DHS could legally control voting machines in three swing states.
Giuliani made the call to the department’s acting deputy secretary, who said he didn’t have such authority.
Trump also reportedly raised the possibility to Attorney General Bill...
