Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Representative Bennie Thompson (D-MS), the chairman of the House select committee investigating the January 6 riot at the Capitol, said the committee is “concerned that our military was part of this big lie” of promoting that President Donald Trump did not lose the 2020 presidential election.
Partial transcript as follows:
MARGARET BRENNAN: There was also another story, significant. POLITICO published the text of a draft executive order that had been presented to President Trump in Dec of 2020 to have the defense secretary seize voting machines in battleground states. And multiple news organizations have now reported this. Do you intend to go to the Attorney General, Bill Barr, to ask him about this? I mean, how do you follow up on- on this kind of allegation and the paperwork to back it up?
THOMPSON: Well, yes, we do. To be honest with you, we’ve had conversations with the former attorney general already. We have talked to Department of Defense individuals. We are concerned that our military was part of this big lie on promoting that the election was false. So, if you are using the military to potentially seize voting machines, even though it’s a discussion, the public needs to know, we’ve never had that before. And so any of these individuals who are participating and trying to stop the election, the duly election of a president, and if we can document it, we will share it with the public.
BRENNAN: I just want to follow up on something you said. Do you have proof that there was someone inside the United States military working on this premise? Of actually seizing voting machines.
THOMPSON: Well, 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.
BRENNAN: Something beyond this draft executive order, there was actually an operational plan?
THOMPSON: Well, no, not an operational plan, but just 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? We do know that a potential person was identified to become the attorney general of the United States, who would communicate with certain states that election on their situation had been fraudulent and not to produce certified documents. Well, we understand that. So, we will move forward on that investigation, and we will look and see specifically how far that plan went.
BRENNAN: That’s incredible. Will the former attorney general, Bill Barr, testify to you? Will you seek out other members of the military to clarify some of what you just laid out here?
THOMPSON: Well, part of our plan is to continue to engage all those individuals that we deem necessary and important to our investigation. Some will talk to some we will do in deposition under oath. Others we will offer hearing opportunities. But I can assure you, as we develop this information, we will clearly present it to the public. We plan at this point to have a series of public hearings showing the use of federal assets, Department of Justice, Department of Defense and other agencies to actually stop the duly election of a president. So, we’ll do it in-in due time.
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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