#peter ticktin

Peter Ticktin, in his words, a boyhood "best friend" of President Trump's from boarding school is one of a number of Trump allies pushing him to go further with an executive order to effectively seize federal control of the upcoming midterms by declaring a national emergency based on alleged foreign interference through electronic voting machines. https://cnn.it/3QTgnlC

Alex Kaplan at MMFA:

After President Donald Trump issued an executive order at the end of March aimed at stopping supposed fraud with mail-in ballots, election deniers have urged Trump to declare a national emergency to allow a federal takeover of election processes. On June 24, Trump echoed those calls and suggested that passing a bill to supposedly combat election fraud is a “national emergency.” Media figures who have pushed claims of widespread election fraud — some of whom say they have been involved with drafting such an order that is “sitting on his [Trump’s] desk” — have urged Trump to give himself “king-like powers” by implementing the proposal, as it would supposedly empower Trump to “be able to make the rules” and use the National Guard to oversee midterm elections. Others claim that they have asked Trump directly to invoke the proposed order, saying it would be “very easy” for the president to “issue an executive order through a national emergency and have the National Guard count those ballots by hand.”

Election deniers drafted executive order declaring a national emergency to implement election policies and Trump issued an executive order on mail-in ballots

Since at least April 2025, a group of right-wing figures and Trump allies have called for Trump to issue a national emergency declaration “to make sure that the elections in 2026 are secure,” even proposing and circulating among Trump administration officials a draft executive order that would “declare a national emergency” and “empower the president to ban mail ballots and voting machines as the vectors of foreign interference.” Those involved include attorney Peter Ticktin, former Infowars staffer Jerome Corsi, and QAnon influencer Wayne Willot, known online as Juan O. Savin.

[...]

Trump and his right-wing media allies have been pushing claims of election fraud for years. During Trump's second term, election deniers known for promoting conspiracy theories about the 2020 election have been given access to the levers of power — feeding already debunked claims to the Department of Justice, taking roles in the administration, and contributing to federal investigations. Some, like Peters, Byrne, and Martin Rodil, claimed they have spoken directly with Trump and administration officials. (The Guardian reported Rodil became a source “for the Trump camp and ultimately for investigators and … promoted two major allegations about Venezuela.”)

John Knefel at MMFA:

Following her release from prison last month, former Colorado election official Tina Peters has hit the ground running with more than 17 appearances in right-wing media. During her media tour, Peters has spread numerous conspiracy theories about supposed voter fraud and foreign interference in elections, while repeatedly boasting about advising President Donald Trump on how to fix the purported problem. Peters — who was released following commutation of her sentence on charges related to 2020 election conspiracy theories — has claimed that she urged Trump to issue executive orders that could severely curtail voting rights during a White House meeting and argued that Trump should unilaterally ban the use of voting machines and mail-in ballots, actions that would almost certainly be challenged in court.

Peters and her lawyer, Peter Ticktin, met with Trump on June 30, seemingly as part of an emerging plot to subvert the midterm elections. According to CNN, Ticktin, who also claims to be the president’s childhood best friend, is pressing Trump to issue “an executive order to effectively seize federal control of the upcoming midterms by declaring a national emergency based on alleged foreign interference through electronic voting machines,” and is involved in drafting a proposed EO toward that end. Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, a vocal supporter of Peters, and others on his War Room podcast have spent weeks calling for Trump to take those exact actions.

Peters’ right-wing media tour: “Get rid of the machines” 

Peters, a former Mesa County clerk, looms large among MAGA media figures who deny the results of the 2020 election. Following a pressure campaign by Trump, Colorado’s Democratic Gov. Jared Polis commuted Peters’ nine-year sentence, ostensibly on free speech grounds, a decision publicly opposed by two members of the commutation board. (Polis then fired them for speaking out.) Media Matters found Peters has made at least 17 appearances in right-wing media programs or events since her release on June 1, including an interview that day on Bannon’s show. During a June 24 fundraiser for herself, Peters said that “Trump called me the other day,” and later added: “I believe Trump could sign an executive order to get rid of the machines.”

On an appearance the same day on The Alex Jones Show, Peters reiterated that Trump “called me” and again argued that the president “should do an executive order to ban electronic voting machines across the nation.” She also alleged that “there were parts made in China” in the equipment she’d seen. (There is no public evidence of foreign interference in the 2020 election.) The next day, Peters appeared on the Joel Oltmann Untamed podcast, where she repeated and broadened her recommendation to Trump. “We’ve got to get rid of the machines,” Peters said. “President Trump needs to sign an executive order —”

“And the mail-in ballots,” host Joel Oltmann interjected. “And the mail-in ballots,” Peters agreed, “Saying it’s unconstitutional that these things are allowed to be done. There’s no security threshold when you have foreign agents that have proprietary authority, power, over the things that are used for our most sacred right, which is to vote who we want to represent us.” Peters also said Trump asked her to “get me the info.” On a June 28 appearance on Faith & Freedom, Peters said that “we have to get rid of the machines. The machines don’t have any transparency; they are flipping votes.”

Then on July 2, Peters went on a livestream and described her White House meeting with Trump. “We are, right now, you know, with meeting the president yesterday, giving him a real solution to how to stop what’s happening.” “There is a plan,” Peters said. “Yesterday, when I was with the president, he talked — and I can’t get into the plan — but we talked, he basically said to his lead counsel to do what I was asking.” Peters repeated that read out of her meeting on July 5 in an interview on The Roger Stone Show. “I just met with President Trump, and I told him, I said, sir, Mr. President, we have four months … We are going to lose the election if we don’t get rid of the machines,” Peters said. She added: “We have a plan going forward, I spoke to the president about it, and I’m hopeful that something can be done.” What exactly that “something” is remains to be seen, but the last few weeks have provided some clues, and it looks a lot like what Peters’ own lawyer is advocating.

Matt Cohen at Democracy Docket:

A draft emergency executive order to declare a national emergency to allow President Donald Trump to take unprecedented control over voting is being circulated by anti-voting activists who said they are in coordination with the White House.  Voting rights experts, democracy advocates, and at least one state election chief said Trump doesn’t have the authority to claim such powers — and any attempt would be blatantly unconstitutional. The draft order — which is said to be based on a conspiracy theory that China interfered with the 2020 election — would allow Trump to unilaterally ban mail-in ballots and voting machines on the basis that they are susceptible to foreign interference. 

The order comes from MAGA activists who have been coordinating with the White House. One of the advocates for the order is Peter Ticktin, the attorney for Tina Peters, the former GOP Colorado county clerk who is currently serving a nine-year state prison sentence for her role in a 2021 voting system breach, in an attempt to find voter fraud based on election conspiracies. The Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution explicitly gives states — not the president — sole authority over elections. But in an email to Democracy Docket, Ticktin said that Trump “may invoke emergency powers in response to an election emergency involving foreign interference, provided certain statutory and procedural requirements are met.” 

Ticktin said those requirements derive from the National Emergencies Act (NEA) and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEA).

[...] The Washington Post reported that the draft order outlining how Trump could use emergency powers to seize voting because of a foreign threat has been circulating since at least July, according to the conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi.  “The administration is reportedly planning to use false claims of foreign election interference by China in 2020 to justify the draft executive order,” McNulty added. “There is no credible evidence of Chinese government interference in the 2020 elections, and intelligence agencies issued past reports that verified that.”

The White House is said to be circulating a “national emergency” draft order to allow the Trump Regime to take over elections by banning vote-by-mail and voting machines bases on spurious claims of “foreign interference”, aided by right-wing election deniers.

Such a declaration of a phony and illegal “national emergency” order based on the debunked nonsense assertion that “China interfered with the 2020 elections” would be patently lawless.

See Also:

NCRM: ‘Extraordinary Presidential Power’: Trump Is Urged to Declare Emergency Over Voting

Alex Kaplan at MMFA:

The New York Times recently reported that a Department of Homeland Security official focused on “election integrity,” appointed by President Donald Trump, has proposed that Trump declare a “national emergency” to “justify dictating new rules to state and local governments” related to voting and elections. The call for a “national emergency” declaration, which Department of Homeland Security official Heather Honey made a few months ahead of her appointment, has also recently been reiterated by right-wing figures and Trump allies known for pushing false claims of widespread election fraud. In interviews and on social media, some of these figures have suggested that Trump use “plenary authority” or claimed to be “encouraging” Trump to declare a national emergency “to make sure that the elections in 2026 are secure.” One of those figures has even claimed to be involved in efforts to craft a related executive order that would affect voting processes.

Trump has issued and threatened executive orders to enact national election policies

In March, Trump issued an executive order of dubious legality to mandate prospective voters provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote. The executive order “calls for the Election Assistance Commission to require people to show government-issued proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, and directs state or local officials to record and verify the information,” along with “requir[ing] states to count ballots by Election Day.” Legal experts have cast doubt on the executive order’s legality, and a federal judge in June blocked most of the key provisions of the order, writing in a decision that “the Constitution does not grant the president any specific powers over elections.” In August, Trump called for voter ID for “every single vote,” claiming, “I Will Be Doing An Executive Order To That End!!!” [The New York Times, 3/25/25, 3/26/25, 6/13/25, 8/31/25]

Trump official previously suggested Trump can declare a “national emergency” to implement the administration’s preferred election policies nationally

In March, Heather Honey, now DHS’ deputy assistant secretary for election integrity, reportedly “suggested that the new administration could declare a ‘national emergency’ and justify dictating new rules to state and local governments” related to voting and elections. The New York Times reported that during a “call with right-wing activists in March,” Honey suggested a national emergency “could be based on an ‘actual investigation’ of the 2020 election if it showed there had been a ‘manipulation’ of the vote.” “Therefore,” she argued, “we have some additional powers that don’t exist right now” and “can take these other steps without Congress and we can mandate that states do things and so on.” [The New York Times, 10/22/25]

Honey is one of “multiple proponents” of Trump’s 2020 election fraud claims who The New York Times reports Trump elevated “into high-level administration jobs.” Prior to Honey's appointment to DHS in August, she was “a leader” in the “right-wing election activist movement that emerged” after Trump “falsely claimed that his 2020 defeat was the result of widespread fraud.” According to the Times, Honey “echo[ed] rhetoric that has infused” that movement during a call in September with state election officials. [The New York Times, 10/22/25]

Will Sommer at The Bulwark:

Todd Blanche faces MAGA heat

It’s hard to imagine a more loyal Trump foot soldier than Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. A former defense attorney for Trump, Blanche has played a role in administration controversies big and small. At one point, Trump even appointed him to run the Library of Congress. (It’s still not totally clear who is running it right now.) Most infamously, Blanche conducted a friendly interview with imprisoned sex trafficker, sex abuser, and Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell just before she was suspiciously transferred to a lower-security prison. And yet, as is often the case in MAGA land, it’s never enough. Blanche has become the target of a right-wing media campaign pushing for his ouster. His accusers blame him for, among other things, holding up a Maxwell-like arrangement for Tina Peters, a conspiracy theorist and former county clerk in Colorado sentenced last fall to nine years in prison for letting another conspiracy theorist copy hard drives of voter data and post the stolen materials to his website. And in an administration that takes many of its cues from right-wing media, that might spell trouble for even entrenched Trump loyalists like Blanche. “We now can definitely identify Todd Blanche as the problem,” Emerald Robinson, an anchor for MyPillow magnate Mike Lindell’s LindellTV, said in an InfoWars appearance last week.

No one’s position inside the MAGA movement is ever fully secure. And that holds particularly true for those who serve in Trump’s Justice Department, where each month a new top official seems to be in the crosshairs of activists yearning for prosecutions, accountability or just good old-fashioned liberal tears. Kash Patel and Dan Bongino, both at the FBI, have had to manage disappointment and anger over the lack of disclosures around the Jeffrey Epstein files. And Attorney General Pam Bondi recently was the subject of intense criticism for claiming that hate speech wasn’t legally protected. Blanche, by contrast, had largely skated. Until now.

He has recently been blamed for a host of misdeeds, including holding up “reparations” for January 6th defendants. But the most significant allegation against him comes from Peter Ticktin, a former Trump military-academy chum turned MAGA lawyer who’s now at the center of the get-Blanche campaign. In Ticktin’s telling, the Justice Department was poised last month to essentially rescue his client Peters from Colorado state prison, where she has started serving her nine-year sentence. Peters has become a kind of election fraud martyr, thanks in part to interviews from prison where she lays out grievances with prison life, including smelly cups, loud doors slamming, and guards yelling her name too loudly. But because Peters is held on state charges, Trump can’t pardon her, even though he’s demanded her release repeatedly in Truth Social posts.

[...] The call to fire Blanche has been picked up by other MAGA influencers, including the popular “Hodge Twins” and InfoWars chief Alex Jones. Happy to pile on, Jones claimed that Blanche had also blocked an investigation into alleged unfairness in the Sandy Hook lawsuits that bankrupted InfoWars.

[...] Perhaps that’s why the Fire Blanche campaign has received so much pushback from top Justice Department officials and other MAGA figures. On Friday, Chad Mizelle—the chief of staff to attorney general Pam Bondi—defended Blanche on X. “Todd Blanche is crushing the deep state,” he wrote. Former congressman Matt Gaetz, now a host at One America News, argued that Blanche was “no squish.” But perhaps the strongest defense of Blanche came from former Trump lawyer Alina Habba, now fighting her own battle to remain as the lead federal prosecutor in New Jersey.

Lisa Needham at Daily Kos:

Tina Peters simply will not go away. The onetime clerk for Mesa County, Colorado, is currently incarcerated while appealing her 2024 conviction for helming a massive election security breach. Peters remains a steadfast warrior for Donald Trump’s Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen, but she can’t keep pursuing her mission while sitting in a Colorado jail. The problem for Peters is that her conviction was in state court, so while she remains a true believer in the Big Lie, Trump can’t wave a wand and pardon her.  But she’s not going to stop trying.  On Tuesday, Peters asked a federal magistrate to let her out of jail on bond while she pursues her state appeal. Peters had already requested that the Colorado Court of Appeals release her on bond, and after they ruled against her, she filed a federal habeas petition. Peters is desperate to wedge this case into federal court somehow so that Trump can make it go away. 

Now, you might be agog at the notion that a federal magistrate can just roll into a state court case and functionally overrule the Colorado Court of Appeals, and guess what? The federal magistrate was equally perplexed, because federal magistrates have no authority to intervene in a state case. Indeed, Chief Magistrate Judge Scott Varholak said, “I don’t think petitioner has cited a single case in the history of the United States where a federal court granted an appeal bond in a state case.” [...] Trump is already in Peters’ corner. In May, he directed the Department of Justice to secure her release. On Truth Social, Trump called Peters an “innocent Political Prisoner” and said that she was being “horribly and unjustly punished in the form of Cruel and Unusual Punishment.” Also, she is a hostage who is being imprisoned by Democrats for “political reasons.”

Like Peters, her attorney, Peter Ticktin, is absolutely full-on MAGA. He wrote a fawning book about Trump, detailing their time together in high school at a military academy. He’s also one of Trump’s endless series of personal attorneys, having represented him in his suit against Hillary Clinton and James Comey. Ticktin is also a pal of Ed Martin, the Department of Justice’s very shady pardon attorney, and personally delivered 11 applications to Martin. 

Ticktin’s argument to the federal magistrate was essentially that Peters shouldn’t be in jail with actual criminals, because she is not one. Instead, she’s being imprisoned for her speech.  “In this particular case, we have a person in prison because of a fear that she’s a danger to society because of what she might say,” he claimed.

Buddy, she’s in prison because she was convicted by a jury of her peers for giving a Big Lie conspiracy theorist rando complete access to election machines and allowing him to copy the hard drives, which later popped up on election conspiracy sites. This is a crime, period. 

Matt Cohen at Democracy Docket:

Prominent right-wing figures are calling for the military to free Tina Peters, the Colorado election-denier-turned-MAGA-folk-hero who’s currently serving a nine-year prison sentence for her role in a 2021 voting system data breach, in a failed attempt to find voter fraud. The escalating rhetoric comes as the Trump administration aims to pressure Colorado officials to transfer Peters to federal custody — and underscores how springing Peters from prison has become a cause celebre among conspiracy-driven far-right activists. During a Nov. 24 interview with Steve Bannon, Peters’ attorney Peter Ticktin suggested that the president send in the military to free Peters from state prison in Colorado.  “Do I think that it should be done?” Ticktin asked. “Yeah. I would love to see that happen.”

“This audience would one million percent back you, back the Justice Department, back the Secretary of War, back the President of the United States if we did this tomorrow morning,” Bannon responded. “And that’s the type of thing it’s going to take [to free Peters].” Ticktin and Bannon aren’t the only conservative figures calling for military intervention to secure Peters’ release. 

[...] Though CDOC refused to transfer Peters to federal custody, Polis (D) has yet to publicly comment on Peters’ status. Since Peters was convicted on state and not federal charges, only Polis has the power to pardon or transfer her. A bipartisan coalition of Colorado county clerks called out Polis for his silence on the issue.  “Polis’ indecision, or his refusal to publicly address the decision, is already causing harm to clerks across Colorado,” Boulder County Clerk Molly Fitzpatrick (R) reportedly said during a recent Zoom press conference.  “The governor welcomes an opportunity to meet with the clerks to hear from them directly and has signed many laws to protect the integrity of our free and fair elections, including increasing penalties for threatening public officials,” a spokesperson for Polis’ office told CBS News.