Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee fear the president’s true aim is to justify a federal power grab over America’s voting infrastructure ahead of the midterms, where Democrats are hoping to reclaim control of at least one chamber of Congress. “If true, this has the hallmarks of another transparent attempt to relitigate debunked 2020 election conspiracies, sow doubt ahead of the 2026 midterms, and potentially lay the groundwork for an unprecedented assertion of federal power over the conduct of elections,” reads the letter, which the panel’s top Democrat, Rep. Jim Himes (Conn.), spearheaded.
The letter was sent this morning to CIA Director John Ratcliffe, NSA Director Gen. Joseph Rudd, FBI Director Kash Patel and acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte, and calls on them to “stand up” if Trump tries to declassify material that is “intended to mislead.”
Spokespeople for the White House, as well as NSA, CIA, FBI and Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The letter comes one day after Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence, Jay Clayton, refused to say during his Senate confirmation hearing that Joe Biden fairly won the 2020 vote — alarming Democrats who thought highly of Clayton heading into the day.
Last week, Trump also fired the two Democratic commissioners of the Election Assistance Commission, which helps certify U.S. voting machines and acts as a clearinghouse for best practices on administering elections. He has repeatedly pressured Senate Republicans to pass the SAVE Act, which would restrict mail-in voting and require voters to provide photo ID and proof of citizenship when they show up to the polls.
In its after-action report on the 2020 election, the U.S. intelligence community concluded that China “considered but did not deploy” any attempts to influence voter perceptions, but acknowledged that some intelligence community analysts disagreed. Vulnerabilities in U.S. voting machines have long been known to election officials, who argue they can be mitigated.
Democrats aren’t the only ones worried about Trump’s speech: Republicans are also fretting what the President will say on air Thursday night.
