January 6 committee has been talking with ex-attorney general William Barr, chairman Bennie Thompson says
The House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection has been having conversations with former Attorney General William Barr, the committee's chairman said Sunday.
"To be honest with you, we've had conversations with the former attorney general already," Rep. Bennie Thompson told CBS' Margaret Brennan on "Face the Nation" when asked if the committee would go to Barr. "We've talked to Department of Defense individuals. We are concerned that our military was part of this big lie on promoting that the election was false."
The Mississippi Democrat continued, "So, if you are using the military, to potentially seize these voting machines, even though it's a discussion, the public needs to know, we've never had that before."
Thompson's remarks came in response to a question regarding text of a draft executive order that had been presented to then-President Donald Trump in December of 2020 to have the secretary of defense seize voting machines in battleground states.
Barr, who was a staunch defender of Trump during his tenure at the Department of Justice and pushed the administration's "law and order" message, resigned in December 2020 after rebuking the then-President's false claims about widespread election fraud.
Video: New texts reveal the extent of the Republican effort to overturn the election (CNN)
-
What you need to know from the May 17 primaries Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Idaho, Kentucky and Oregon held their midterm primaries on May 17.
The Washington Post
-
Former Finnish PM: Russia does not see Finnish and Swedish accession to NATO as a military threat Russia does not see Finnish and Swedish accession to NATO as a military threat, Former Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb says.
CNBC
-
Cyclone Yakecan batters Uruguay's capital Strong winds and waves batter Uruguay's capital Montevideo as subtropical cyclone Yakecan hits the South American country with gusts of up to 100 kilometres per hour. At least one person has died and thousands of homes have been left without power, with the country issuing an orange weather alert, its second most severe.
AFP
It is unclear who wrote the draft order, which is full of legal language asserting presidential powers to seize the election equipment and conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.
The draft, which was published by Politico last week, also said the defense secretary could identify National Guard units to be federalized to help the effort. The document also appears to be one that Trump fought to block from the January 6 select committee, which is investigating his attempts to subvert the 2020 election.
It was dated December 16, 2020, according to the document published by Politico, which is two days after the Electoral College met in state capitals to formalize President Joe Biden's victory, dealing a huge blow to Trump's attempts to overturn the election.
Thompson also said he wasn't aware of an operational plan but just the draft itself.
"We do know that a potential person was identified to become the attorney general of the United States, who would communicate with certain states that the election on their situation had been fraudulent and not to produce certified documents," he said.