A lawyer who worked with initiatives to contest the 2020 presidential result pressed a U.S. intelligence contractor to broaden its scope and search for evidence that could support a renewed inquiry into alleged voter fraud, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mojave Research Inc., retained by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), was contracted to examine voting machines removed from Puerto Rico as part of a probe into vulnerabilities that might be exploited by bad actors in the island's 2024 elections. The machines were taken into custody and inspected by officials and law enforcement in May, after reports surfaced about security weaknesses.
Push to Expand Investigation
The lawyer, Kurt Olsen, who participated in post-2020 efforts to challenge that year's outcome and who later served in the administration as a special government employee assigned to re-examine the 2020 election, sought to have Mojave widen the work it was doing in Puerto Rico. Sources familiar with internal discussions said Olsen urged the contractor to search for vulnerabilities or other indications that could be tied to the 2020 presidential contest.
Mojave, headquartered in Reston, Virginia and known to have done AI-based work for ODNI, continued to direct its analysis toward identifying and addressing weaknesses that could affect upcoming elections rather than compiling evidence that would underpin a retroactive fraud probe, these sources said. Reuters was not the basis for this report.
Officials' Statements and Contract Ending
An ODNI official said Olsen was not part of the agency's "examination of electronic voting systems used in Puerto Rico's elections," while not disputing that Olsen had engaged with the agency on voting security topics. Olsen and the White House did not respond to requests for comment. Mojave declined to comment.
One person familiar with the matter said Mojave's contract with the intelligence office was terminated in October. That person did not provide a reason and the termination could not be independently confirmed.
Scope and Findings of Mojave's Review
Sources with direct knowledge of Mojave's work said the analysts looked for potential weaknesses in the Puerto Rico machines' hardware and software that might leave them open to manipulation. Mojave submitted findings to ODNI in July. Those findings, which have not been made public, reportedly documented problems with the machines, including software issues, and suggested that similar vulnerabilities might exist in other machines used across the United States.
However, according to two people familiar with the investigation, the report did not contain clear evidence that could be used by Olsen in his renewed inquiry into the 2020 election results. Instead, Mojave reportedly proposed a plan to strengthen election infrastructure; that proposal had not been implemented as of the last reporting and ODNI did not address questions about the company's plan when asked.
Broader ODNI Activity and Oversight
The team assembled by U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard included officials, law enforcement agents and private contractors and carried out removal and analysis of voting machines and data in multiple jurisdictions, including Georgia and Puerto Rico. Officials described the Puerto Rico removal as part of that agency-led effort to assess system security.
U.S. intelligence agencies are not authorized by Congress or presidential order to engage in domestic politics. Sources described Olsen's participation in ODNI discussions prior to his official appointment as voluntary. The ODNI official characterized that earlier involvement as voluntary as well.
Connection to Department of Justice Probe in Georgia
An FBI affidavit made public on Tuesday named Olsen as the official whose referral prompted the U.S. Justice Department to launch an investigation into the 2020 election in Georgia. That investigation included an FBI search last month of an election center in Fulton County, Georgia; the affidavit details the justification for that search.
Local Election Authority Response and Equipment Ownership
Jorge Rivera Rueda, president of the Puerto Rico State Elections Commission, said the commission "will fully cooperate with any investigative process conducted by the appropriate authorities, whether at the state or federal level."
Many U.S. states and Puerto Rico use voting machines manufactured by Dominion, which was at the center of false conspiracies about the 2020 election. The machines involved in the Puerto Rico review were acquired last year by Liberty Vote, a company owned by a former Republican elections director for St. Louis. A spokesperson for Liberty Vote did not respond to a request for comment.
Implications of the Mojave Findings
While Mojave identified problems that suggested broader risks to voting systems, the investigation did not yield the sort of direct evidence that Kurt Olsen was seeking to support a government re-examination of the 2020 results, according to sources. Instead, the contractor focused on recommendations to improve security and resilience for future elections.
Which steps, if any, will be taken based on Mojave's proposed plan and the ODNI review remains unclear. ODNI issued a statement indicating Puerto Rico's machines had a system that was "highly vulnerable to exploits," but provided limited detail on planned follow-up actions.
This article reflects reporting from sources with direct knowledge of internal deliberations and official statements provided by agency and election officials. Where reporting was limited or could not be independently confirmed, that limitation is noted.