A Lawyer's Hunt for Election Fraud Evidence

A lawyer who worked on the "Stop the Steal" campaign after the 2020 election tried to get a U. S. intelligence contractor to look for evidence of voter fraud. This lawyer, Kurt Olsen, wanted the contractor, Mojave Research Inc. , to expand its work and search for issues that could support claims about the 2020 election results. Mojave was originally hired to study vulnerabilities in voting machines used in Puerto Rico's 2024 elections. The company was examining the machines for potential security weaknesses. The machines were removed and checked by officials in May. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said this move followed public reports about problems with the security of Puerto Rico's voting machines. Olsen, who was involved with the "Stop the Steal" effort, wanted Mojave to search for vulnerabilities that could have affected the 2020 election results. However, Mojave kept its focus on securing future elections and did not alter its work to look for evidence related to the 2020 election. The role of Mojave and its interaction with Olsen had not been previously reported. The company's contract with the ODNI was terminated last October, but the reason for this is not clear. An official with ODNI said Olsen was not involved in the agency's examination of electronic voting systems used in Puerto Rico's elections but did not dispute his interactions with the spy agency on voting security matters.Olsen's actions show how some officials are attempting to use the U. S. intelligence community to prove their charges that the 2020 election was stolen. This claim has been repeatedly rejected by courts. U. S. intelligence agencies are not authorized by Congress or presidential order to engage in domestic politics. While not an intelligence official, Olsen has been involved in ODNI work, which sources described as unusual. He participated in election security-related discussions with ODNI even before he was given his official government role. The ODNI official described Olsen's involvement in discussions prior to his appointment as "voluntary. " An FBI affidavit made public on Tuesday named Olsen as the official whose referral launched the U. S. Justice Department's investigation into the 2020 election in Georgia. This investigation has included an FBI search last month of an election center in Fulton County, Georgia. The president of the Puerto Rico State Elections Commission, Jorge Rivera Rueda, said it "will fully cooperate with any investigative process conducted by the appropriate authorities, whether at the state or federal level. "