Gabbard and Patel deny knowledge of Trump emergency election order plans
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and FBI Director Kash Patel told senators Wednesday that they were unaware of any draft executive order tied to reported plans for President Donald Trump to invoke emergency powers over elections ahead of the midterm elections.
The exchange came during the Senate Intelligence Committee’s worldwide threats hearing, where Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) pressed both officials over reports that Trump allies are circulating a draft order citing Chinese interference in the 2020 election as grounds for declaring a national emergency.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe testify before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. (Graeme Jennings / Washington Examiner)
“There were reports that in 2020 the president was preparing an executive order potentially seize ballots or bring in federal forces,” Warner said, citing a recent Washington Post report about conservative legal advocates pushing the president to craft such an order.
Warner said, “There is a published report that there is a similar EO being drafted right now about 2026 citing China. Director Patel, do you have any knowledge of that draft EO?”
Patel replied, “Thank you, vice chairman. I do not, sir.”
Kash Patel speaks before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. (Graeme Jennings / Washington Examiner).
Warner then turned to Gabbard, asking whether she had any knowledge of such a draft. “I do not,” she said.
The exchange added to an already tense start to the hearing in which Warner accused Gabbard of failing to provide the committee with legally required reports on foreign interference threats tied to U.S. elections. The conversation later turned to Warner’s concerns about her surprise January appearance in Fulton County, Georgia, during an FBI operation to seize 2020 election ballots.
Warner argued that the ballot seizure involved no demonstrated foreign nexus and was instead rooted in “conspiracy theories that have already been examined and rejected repeatedly.” He asked Gabbard what authority allowed her to insert herself into what he described as a domestic law enforcement matter.
Gabbard, who was spotted at the raid scene sporting a black baseball cap and dark coat, pushed back against the chairman’s assertion, saying his characterization was false.
WARNER: Where is the authority for you to involve yourself in a domestic law enforcement activity in Georgia?
TULSI GABBARD: I did not …
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and FBI Director Kash Patel told senators Wednesday that they were unaware of any draft executive order tied to reported plans for President Donald Trump to invoke emergency powers over elections ahead of the midterm elections.
The exchange came during the Senate Intelligence Committee’s worldwide threats hearing, where Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) pressed both officials over reports that Trump allies are circulating a draft order citing Chinese interference in the 2020 election as grounds for declaring a national emergency.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe testify before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. (Graeme Jennings / Washington Examiner)
“There were reports that in 2020 the president was preparing an executive order potentially seize ballots or bring in federal forces,” Warner said, citing a recent Washington Post report about conservative legal advocates pushing the president to craft such an order.
Warner said, “There is a published report that there is a similar EO being drafted right now about 2026 citing China. Director Patel, do you have any knowledge of that draft EO?”
Patel replied, “Thank you, vice chairman. I do not, sir.”
Kash Patel speaks before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. (Graeme Jennings / Washington Examiner).
Warner then turned to Gabbard, asking whether she had any knowledge of such a draft. “I do not,” she said.
The exchange added to an already tense start to the hearing in which Warner accused Gabbard of failing to provide the committee with legally required reports on foreign interference threats tied to U.S. elections. The conversation later turned to Warner’s concerns about her surprise January appearance in Fulton County, Georgia, during an FBI operation to seize 2020 election ballots.
Warner argued that the ballot seizure involved no demonstrated foreign nexus and was instead rooted in “conspiracy theories that have already been examined and rejected repeatedly.” He asked Gabbard what authority allowed her to insert herself into what he described as a domestic law enforcement matter.
Gabbard, who was spotted at the raid scene sporting a black baseball cap and dark coat, pushed back against the chairman’s assertion, saying his characterization was false.
WARNER: Where is the authority for you to involve yourself in a domestic law enforcement activity in Georgia?
TULSI GABBARD: I did not …
Gabbard and Patel deny knowledge of Trump emergency election order plans
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and FBI Director Kash Patel told senators Wednesday that they were unaware of any draft executive order tied to reported plans for President Donald Trump to invoke emergency powers over elections ahead of the midterm elections.
The exchange came during the Senate Intelligence Committee’s worldwide threats hearing, where Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) pressed both officials over reports that Trump allies are circulating a draft order citing Chinese interference in the 2020 election as grounds for declaring a national emergency.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe testify before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. (Graeme Jennings / Washington Examiner)
“There were reports that in 2020 the president was preparing an executive order potentially seize ballots or bring in federal forces,” Warner said, citing a recent Washington Post report about conservative legal advocates pushing the president to craft such an order.
Warner said, “There is a published report that there is a similar EO being drafted right now about 2026 citing China. Director Patel, do you have any knowledge of that draft EO?”
Patel replied, “Thank you, vice chairman. I do not, sir.”
Kash Patel speaks before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. (Graeme Jennings / Washington Examiner).
Warner then turned to Gabbard, asking whether she had any knowledge of such a draft. “I do not,” she said.
The exchange added to an already tense start to the hearing in which Warner accused Gabbard of failing to provide the committee with legally required reports on foreign interference threats tied to U.S. elections. The conversation later turned to Warner’s concerns about her surprise January appearance in Fulton County, Georgia, during an FBI operation to seize 2020 election ballots.
Warner argued that the ballot seizure involved no demonstrated foreign nexus and was instead rooted in “conspiracy theories that have already been examined and rejected repeatedly.” He asked Gabbard what authority allowed her to insert herself into what he described as a domestic law enforcement matter.
Gabbard, who was spotted at the raid scene sporting a black baseball cap and dark coat, pushed back against the chairman’s assertion, saying his characterization was false.
WARNER: Where is the authority for you to involve yourself in a domestic law enforcement activity in Georgia?
TULSI GABBARD: I did not …
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