Trump Allies Push Election Takeover at Secret Summit with Federal Officials

A gathering of prominent figures who previously sought to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, including several current federal officials, recently convened to discuss strategies for influencing the upcoming midterm elections. The summit, held last week in Washington, D.C., centered on persuading former President Donald Trump to declare a national emergency that would grant him greater control over the electoral process. This intensifying effort to involve Trump directly in reshaping election administration comes as previous attempts to alter election rules through executive order and legislation have largely stalled.

The meeting, sponsored by the Gold Institute for International Strategy, brought together individuals with a history of promoting unsubstantiated claims of election fraud. Participants included Kurt Olsen, a White House lawyer tasked with reinvestigating the 2020 election and Heather Honey, a Department of Homeland Security official responsible for election integrity. Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security advisor, convened the event, and Cleta Mitchell, director of the Election Integrity Network – a group known for spreading false claims about election fraud and noncitizen voting – was also in attendance. ProPublica first reported on the summit, based on a review of videos, photos, and social media posts.

The Push for a Federal Takeover

Activists at the summit reportedly circulated a draft executive order that would ban mail-in ballots and eliminate voting machines, effectively enacting a federal takeover of elections. Peter Ticktin, a lawyer involved in drafting the order, described these actions as “all part of the same effort.” This aligns with previous reporting by The Washington Post, which noted the circulation of this draft order among activists associated with the summit.

The summit isn’t an isolated incident. ProPublica’s reporting indicates a series of meetings and discussions between administration officials and activists dating back to last fall. This coordination between individuals inside and outside the government has raised concerns among election experts, who see it as a breakdown of crucial safeguards designed to protect the integrity of U.S. Elections. Brendan Fischer, a director at the Campaign Legal Center, stated that the meeting demonstrates how those who attempted to overturn the 2020 election are “now embedded in the machinery of government,” creating a risk that the administration is “laying the groundwork to improperly reshape elections.”

Participants and Their Roles

Beyond Olsen and Honey, several other federal officials attended the summit. Clay Parikh, a special government employee at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, is assisting Olsen with the 2020 inquiry. Mac Warner, who previously handled election litigation at the Justice Department, resigned the day after the summit, reportedly without receiving the necessary ethics approvals. Marci McCarthy, who directs communications for the nation’s cyber defense agency, was also present. Kari Lake, whom Trump appointed as a senior advisor to the U.S. Agency for Global Media, served as a featured speaker, drawing on her experience challenging the results of the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election.

The involvement of these officials raises questions about potential conflicts of interest and the appropriate boundaries between government service and partisan political activity. Heather Honey’s prior leadership role within Mitchell’s Election Integrity Network, as previously reported by ProPublica, is particularly noteworthy. Experts suggest that such connections could violate ethics rules that were in place under previous administrations, though the current administration’s approach to these rules appears to be more lenient.

The Election Integrity Network’s Influence

Cleta Mitchell’s Election Integrity Network has been a central player in promoting claims of election fraud and advocating for stricter voting regulations. The network’s influence extends beyond the summit, with ProPublica reporting on its involvement in fueling investigations into the 2020 vote in Fulton County, Georgia. The network has also been linked to Kevin Moncla, a conservative researcher whose claims of fraud have been repeatedly discredited, yet continue to be cited by Trump and his allies.

Prior Interactions and Coordination

Emails obtained by ProPublica reveal that shortly after Heather Honey joined the Department of Homeland Security, she briefed election activists, a Republican secretary of state, and another federal official on a conference call arranged by Cleta Mitchell. This briefing provided her former employer with access that experts believe would have been prohibited under previous ethics guidelines. These interactions highlight a pattern of coordination between government officials and activists seeking to undermine confidence in the electoral process.

The summit also follows other meetings involving Thomas Albus, the U.S. Attorney for Missouri’s Eastern District, and Trump administration lawyers tasked with reinvestigating the 2020 election. As ProPublica reported, Albus has met with Ed Martin and Kurt Olsen, both of whom played roles in Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

White House Response and Future Steps

A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, asserted that the attendance of federal officials at the summit should not be interpreted as support for a national emergency declaration. The official characterized such interactions as “common practice,” suggesting that staffers routinely communicate with outside advocates. Trump himself has publicly denied considering a national emergency or having reviewed the draft executive order, according to comments reported by PBS News.

Despite these denials, Trump has previously expressed openness to a federal takeover of elections, particularly in areas where he anticipates Republican losses. He recently stated that Republicans “need to capture over” elections and “to nationalize the voting.” The extent to which these statements reflect genuine policy considerations or simply rhetorical posturing remains unclear.

The implications of this summit and the ongoing coordination between administration officials and election deniers are significant. The potential for unprecedented actions to influence the upcoming midterms raises serious concerns about the integrity of the electoral process and the peaceful transfer of power. The next steps will likely involve continued scrutiny of the administration’s actions, legal challenges to any attempts to reshape elections through executive order, and ongoing efforts by election experts to debunk false claims of fraud and protect the right to vote.