Thread by @PaulaChertok

So it was Flynn who spawned the idea (with Waldron) to seize voting machines. And not only by the military, but by DHS, a 2nd draft executive order directed. It's unclear if DHS was a backup or if the coup plotters thought the military & DHS would share coup responsibilities😬

https://twitter.com/ZcohenCNN/status/1488322184946896903

>>> Flynn personally reached out to at least one senior defense official in mid-December attempting to enlist their help with his cause (to seize voting machines)

Could the “senior defense official” be Flynn’s brother Charles??

So Trump had a direct role in the plot to seize voting machines. He directed Giuliani to call DHS's Cuccinelli AFTER the Pentagon rejected the idea. AND after Barr at DOJ rejected it.

That makes THREE fed depts Trump pressed to conspire with him in this part of the coup.

https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1488357329917648898

NYT reports it was actually Waldron's brainchild to use federal agencies to seize voting machines, and he proposed it to Flynn. Flynn & Powell presented the draft executive order to Trump on Dec 18. This suggests she drafted it, with the help of Flynn's classified knowledge.

https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1488357810404577280

After reading the order from Flynn & Powell, Trump summoned Giuliani, who reportedly said the military couldn't be used to seize voting machines unless there was foreign interference. And so Waldron (w/ who?) amended the order to say if DOD couldn't oversee the seizure, DHS could

LOL "Mr. Trump told Mr. Barr that his lawyers had told him that the department had the power to seize machines as evidence of fraud." This was in mid-late Nov.

Well now we know why Barr quit, like a bat outta hell.

"Even Mr. Giuliani, who had spent weeks peddling some of the most outrageous claims about election fraud, felt that the idea of bringing in the military was beyond the pale."

🤨But DHS wasn't beyond the pale. Directed by Trump, Rudy called Cuccinelli abt seizing voting machines

https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1488357329917648898