THE PRESIDENT IS SUBVERTING DEMOCRACY IN PLAIN SIGHT

Yesterday at the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump said, “They rigged the second election. I had to win it. I needed it for my own ego. I would’ve had a bad ego for the rest of my life. Now I really have a big ego. Beating these lunatics was incredible ... The first time they said I didn’t win the popular vote. I did.” We’re watching Trump’s ego continue to convince us of the Big Lie. And now the DOJ acts as Trump’s personal election-denying law firm. The entire apparatus of the federal government is working hard to figure out how Trump can assume control of elections in America. For Trump’s ego. And this effort is and has been ongoing. Trump continued to bring up foreign election interference during the criminal case against him for his attempt to overturn the 2020 election. In a motion to compel discovery, Trump alleged that Jack Smith cherry picked government communications, and that proof of foreign election interference existed - he was just not handing it over: Jack Smith’s response… “The defendant has indicated that he intends to introduce evidence of foreign influence in the 2020 presidential election to show that (1) he was personally tricked by foreign disinformation, and/or (2) the January 6 riot resulted from “efforts by foreign actors to influence public opinion.” Such evidence should be excluded as an irrelevant and confusing sideshow. As to any claim that the defendant was fooled by foreign influence, absent a concrete showing that the defendant (1) relied in good faith on (2) specific foreign disinformation when (3) making a particular false claim, such evidence will be irrelevant to the defendant’s mens rea and will only distract the jury from the issues properly before it. Next, any argument that foreign actors—rather than the defendant, and his ceaseless, knowingly false claims of election fraud—were responsible for inflaming his followers and causing the Capitol riot is nothing more than an infirm third-party guilt defense. The defendant has not pointed to a single piece of evidence indicating that foreign influence—rather than his own lies—motivated rioters on January 6. And in any event, whether others—be they civilians or foreign actors—said untrue things on the internet does not exonerate the defendant for the lies he told to his followers or the criminal steps he took to illegally retain power.” Trump was and is hell-bent on fabricating foreign election interference. Why? First, the executive has no role in election oversight. Trump believed that if he could prove foreign election interference, then he could claim it’s his Article II job to take care that the laws are faithfully executed. Second, in its order requiring the government return of Abrego Garcia from in El Salvador, SCOTUS said “The District Court should clarify its directive, with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs.” Ever since then, anything Trump has wanted to justify, he quotes that ruling and references National Security. Blow up boats in the Caribbean? Due regard for defence in foreign affairs? Want to deport migrants to third countries without due process? Due regard for deference in foreign affairs. Want to control elections despite the executive having no constitutional role in election oversight? Due regard for deference in foreign affairs. Reuters reported this week that a team working for Tulsi Gabbard seized voting machines and data in Puerto Rico. Sources told Reuters it was an attempt to prove that the government of Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro hacked the voting machines there. Crooked Media reported that the FBI has “summoned state election officials from across the country for an unusual briefing on ‘preparations’ for the midterms” on February 25. The FBI official who sent the email used the title “FBI Election Executive.” When asked for an explanation, FBI spokesperson wrote: “Thank you for reaching out. The FBI has no comment.” The WSJ reported that Tulsi Gabbard had bottled up a May 2025 whistleblower complaint without sharing it as required by law. Maintaining it was too highly classified to be shared. Yesterday Gabbard handed over the heavily-redacted complaint, under claims of executive privilege—which means the president is involved. It’s clear why Tulsi Gabbard was present at an FBI raid of election offices in GA last week. Trump is using her to fabricate foreign election interference in an attempt to seize control of elections from the states, hoping SCOTUS will show him “due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs.”