US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified on Thursday that her office seized voting machines from Puerto Rico at the request of the US attorney in Puerto Rico, W Stephen Muldrow. The Guardian previously reported that Muldrow has been central to a push by Donald Trump supporters to revive a discredited conspiracy theory linking Venezuela to Trump’s 2020 electoral defeat.
The conspiracy theory, promoted by Trump and his allies, claims Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro controlled electronic voting machines worldwide and remotely manipulated results in 2020 to deprive Trump of victory. A judge ruled in 2023 that the theory involving Dominion Voting and Venezuela was false, and several news organisations have retracted the allegations, paying hundreds of millions in defamation claims.
In early 2025, the theory gained renewed attention in Trump’s Justice Department. Two proponents, former CIA official Gary Berntsen and Venezuela expatriate Martin Rodil, presented the case to Muldrow and also briefed the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), according to three sources. An ODNI official said the information was provided voluntarily and did not affect the decision to assess Puerto Rico machines.
Gabbard defended the seizure before Congress, stating it was a valid effort to examine election vulnerabilities. However, Senator Mark Warner noted that for the first time since 2017, the annual worldwide threat assessment omitted mention of foreign attempts to influence US elections, suggesting the intelligence community is no longer allowed to speak honestly about the threat.
