There are many examples in the current administration of support for election deniers and conspiracy theorists. Four or more people in the current administration have denied the results of the 2020 presidential election. In addition, one of the first acts of Donald Trump in his second administration was to pardon 1,500 individuals on trial for their actions on January 6, 2021 at our nation’s Capital. He also commuted the sentences for fourteen people already convicted of their crimes. These commutations and pardons are a huge misuse of the president’s clemency powers. He and others in his administration and Congress have called these criminals “warriors” and “political prisoners”. Republican events around the nation have honored the rioters. Some of these insurrectionists are now considering running for public office or are already running for positions including in Congress.
Elections are run by the states which have laws prohibiting violence, insurrection, and intimidation of voters and election officials. Many states have passed laws to strengthen these protections. And local election officials are partnering with local law enforcement to protect voters and election officials. The Committee for Safe and Secure Elections is a partnership between local election officials and their law enforcement agencies to make sure voters and officials are safe and the president’s promise to reward those seeking to undermine elections is not possible.
One action of the Trump administration in support of election deniers is to attempt to secure the release of Tina Peters, a Colorado election official serving nine years in state prison for providing access to voting equipment to a man affiliated with Mike Lindell, the My Pillow founder and infamous 2020 election denier. Peters is trying to secure her release through the federal court system, and Trump has ordered the DOJ to do whatever is necessary to gain her release. He also posted on social media that Peters is an “innocent political prisoner”. Such actions by the DOJ and statements by the president serve as a threat to state officials not to prosecute rogue election officials who support Trump’s efforts at election subversion. To be clear, Tina Peters broke several state laws and was found guilty of her crimes by a jury of her peers. Trump and the DOJ have no power to overturn her conviction and their speech and actions undermine election sovereignty and the rule of law.
In our final segment on the expert brief from the Brennan Center’s Jasleen Singh we will discuss the Trump administration’s scaling back of election protection.