MAGA Thinks Maduro Will Prove Trump Won in 2020

"In the days after American commandos raided Nicolás Maduro's compound and whisked him out of Venezuela, Mike Lindell wasn't ruminating about the dramatic military operation or oil prices-he was reviving a long-dead conspiracy theory. Lindell, better known as the " MyPillow guy," was celebrating because, in his telling, a possible witness to the theory that Venezuela conspired with election-equipment companies to rig the 2020 presidential election against Donald Trump was now in U.S. custody."

"The supposition boils down to this: Venezuela plotted with election-equipment and -technology companies to engineer Trump's defeat in 2020. There is no credible evidence to support this. But with Maduro in U.S. custody months before the midterms and the Trump administration investigating the 2020 election, an idea that had been disproved by facts and debunked in lawsuits has been revived, with a newsy twist: Now Maduro will prove from a New York jail that Trump defeated Joe Biden."

"Since Maduro's capture, Trump has shared a raft of discredited election-fraud claims on his Truth Social site, including one tied to a company central to the Venezuela conspiracy. A top Justice Department official helped harden the narrative: Ed Martin, the United States pardon attorney (who also directs the Justice Department's Weaponization Working Group, which pursues retribution against Trump's perceived political enemies), promoted the idea that Maduro could offer crucial information to substantiate the stolen-election theory once and for all."

Mike Lindell revived a long-dead theory claiming Venezuela conspired with election-equipment companies to rig the 2020 presidential election against Donald Trump. The theory lacks credible evidence and was debunked in lawsuits. Maduro's arrest and U.S. custody prompted renewed attention and claims that he could prove the election was stolen. Trump reposted discredited allegations on Truth Social tied to a company central to the conspiracy. Ed Martin, the U.S. pardon attorney who directs the Justice Department's Weaponization Working Group, promoted the idea that Maduro might proffer evidence to obtain lesser charges. The revived narrative mixes politics, misinformation, and legal maneuvering.

Read at The Atlantic