Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin issued threats to state election officials on Friday as the Department of Homeland Security launched a widespread review of election security. In his remarks, Mullin asserted that foreign adversaries could potentially hack voter machines and pledged to use “maximum pressure” to address any illegally cast votes, going further than President Trump in scope during Trump’s primetime address on Thursday night.
Trump’s Thursday evening speech focused on alleged foreign interference in U.S. elections, particularly from China, and included declassified documents that he argued demonstrated lax security at polling places. Trump also raised claims regarding the 2020 election. Fox News reported that ABC and NBC declined to air Trump’s primetime address, with DHS chief Mullin subsequently accusing those networks of covering up election security information, calling their decision “shameful.”
Election experts and critics have disputed some of the claims made regarding election security. According to reporting, experts noted that the declassified documents presented by Trump contained no new revelations and suggested the administration was laying groundwork for broader election-related assertions.
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Featured photo: U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)