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    They tried to overturn the 2020 US election. Now, they hold power in Trump’s Washington

    Those who tried to overturn the 2020 election now occupy key federal roles, shaping rules and sowing doubt for 2026The people who tried to overturn the 2020 election have more power than ever – and they plan to use it.Bolstered by the president, they have prominent roles in key parts of the federal government. Harmeet Dhillon, a lawyer who helped advance Donald Trump’s claims of a stolen election in 2020, now leads the civil rights division of the justice department. An election denier, Heather Honey, now serves as the deputy assistant secretary for election integrity in the Department of Homeland Security. Kurt Olsen, an attorney involved in the “stop the steal” movement, is now a special government employee investigating the 2020 election. Continue reading… More

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    Trump hints support for fringe theory that Venezuela rigged 2020 election

    President’s comment implies hostility to Venezuela may be based on unfounded election-rigging conspiracy theoryDonald Trump on Sunday appeared to endorse the discredited conspiracy theory that Venezuela’s leadership controls electronic voting software worldwide and caused his 2020 election defeat to Joe Biden.White House officials have previously said that Trump’s increasingly bellicose policy toward Venezuela is driven by concerns about migration and the drug trade. But the president’s new comment, made on Truth Social, hints that his hostility to Venezuela may also be based on an outlandish, implausible theory ruled to be false by a judge in 2023. Continue reading… More

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    Trump’s DoJ investigating unfounded claims Venezuela helped steal 2020 election

    Exclusive: Discredited election-rigging conspiracy theory could strengthen Trump’s military action against MaduroFederal investigators have been interviewing multiple people who are pushing unfounded claims that Venezuela helped steal the 2020 election from Donald Trump, the Guardian has learned.Two promoters of the conspiracy theory have repeatedly briefed the US attorney for the district of Puerto Rico, W Stephen Muldrow, and have shared witnesses and documents with officials, according to four sources. Muldrow declined to comment. Continue reading… More

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    Trump pardons Giuliani, Meadows and others over plot to steal 2020 election

    Federal clemency towards president’s close allies largely symbolic as some still face legal exposure at state levelRudy Giuliani and Mark Meadows, both close former political allies of Donald Trump, are among scores of people pardoned by the president over the weekend for their roles in a plot to steal the 2020 election.The maneuver is in effect symbolic, given it only applies in the federal justice system and not in state courts, where Giuliani, Meadows and the others continue facing legal peril. The acts of clemency were announced in a post late on Sunday to X by US pardon attorney Ed Martin, covers 77 people said to have been the architects and agents of the scheme to install fake Republican electors in several battleground states, which would have falsely declared Trump their winner instead of the actual victor: Joe Biden. Continue reading… More

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    Trump justice department seeks 2020 election records from Georgia county

    Request to Fulton county underscores determination to revive president’s falsehoods about election he lostThe justice department on Thursday asked election officials in Fulton county, Georgia, to turn over records related to the 2020 election, a request that underscores how the administration is trying to revive one of the president’s biggest falsehoods about the election he lost five years ago.Investigators have cleared Fulton county of malfeasance in 2020. Nonetheless, a Republican majority on the board voted to reopen the investigation last year. On the night of the 2024 presidential election, the board voted to subpoena a slew of documents. This summer, the board passed a resolution asking the justice department to intervene and help them get the documents. The subpoenas issued last year seek records related to voter lists, chain of custody forms, ballot images, security seals and ballot scanner paperwork. Continue reading… More

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    Jack Smith hits back at claims that Trump prosecutions were politically motivated

    Former justice department special counsel said accusations were ‘ludicrous’ and criticized Trump’s DoJ in rare interviewIn a rare interview former justice department special counsel Jack Smith has hit back against accusations that the federal prosecutions of Donald Trump he oversaw were politically motivated, calling the claims “absolutely ludicrous”.Speaking with former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann at the UK’s University College London in an interview last week, Smith defended the integrity of the criminal investigations he led and his work as special counsel in the Biden administration. Continue reading… More