Donald Trump Was Briefed that 2020 Elections Were Secure, Jack Smith Now Looking Into That Briefing
Special Counsel Jack Smith is looking into an election security briefing held on February 14, 2020 where election officials assured then-President Donald Trump that the elections were secure. Despite the meeting taking place, however, Trump still went on to claim that the elections were stolen.
Three sources familiar with the special counsel investigation told NBC News that they were interviewed by the special counsel's office regarding that election briefing attended by Trump, with two sources saying that they were present during that very meeting.
In that briefing, multiple agencies, including the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency all informed then-President Trump that it was "extraordinarily difficult for hacking or fraud to change the results of a U.S. election."
Donald Trump was described to be "receptive" to the information and even suggested that he would hold a news conference announcing that the elections are secure. However, that news conference never happened, with Trump soon spreading doubt about election integrity in the months that followed.
CISA Director Chris Krebs was also interviewed by Special Counsel Jack Smith's office regarding election integrity. During the 2020 election, his agency released a "rumor control" website that debunked some of the false election conspiracy theories that his then-boss, Donald Trump, had been spreading.
Krebs had been at odds with Trump since the 2020 election as he insisted that the voting systems were protected. He and other election security groups issued a joint statement stating that the election was "the most secure in American history." However, Trump was not pleased with this.
Eight Search Warrants Were Filed Regarding the Classified Documents Case
Aside from the January 6 and election interference investigation, Jack Smith is also looking into the Donald Trump classified documents scandals. The case has since resulted in the former president being indicted on 37 counts, accusing him of willfully retaining national defense information, conspiring to obstruct justice, and making false statements.
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One of the biggest moments from the investigation was last year's raid on Mar-a-Lago where the FBI found hundreds of documents that Donald Trump illegally took from the White House.
Now, the court motions regarding the raid have been unsealed and it revealed that the DOJ issued eight search warrants against Trump. The warrants were unsealed thanks to a transparency request by media organizations, including NBC News. Prosecutors also filed a motion with the federal court that the warrants be disclosed to Trump's and co-defendant Walt Nauta's attorneys.
New Poll Suggests Donald Trump's Popularity Slipping Among Republicans
While Trump's legal problems are catching up to him, he is still the current Republican frontrunner as top rival Ron DeSantis is experiencing some money troubles.
However, a new Pew poll found that Trump may not be as popular as he seems. The poll showed that 63% of Americans of all political affiliations have an unfavorable opinion of Trump, an increase of 3% from last year's poll.
As for people who identify as Republicans, many widely support Trump, with 66% of them viewing him in a favorable light. However, this is 9 percentage points lower than last July's 75%. More Republicans now view him unfavorably, as this number has risen to 32%.
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This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Rick Martin
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