In a 2006 CNN segment entitled “Democracy for Sale,” the network reported a “company owned by Venezuela could be allowed to take over one of our top voting machine firms.” Less than two decades later, that premonition has come to pass, though CNN today contradicts their own reporting from 2006.
“Critics say our very democracy is now for sale, without anyone doing a thing about it,” said Dobbs, underscored by a CNN chyron which screamed:
‘WHY DO VENEZUELANS CONTROL A U.S. VOTING MACHINE FIRM?’
Fifteen years ago CNN reported that watchdog groups were questioning why U.S. voting machines would be under the control of citizens from another country.
WATCH:
“We believe this is a national security issue. There is no way that companies belonging to non US corporations should have access to our elections,” lamented Joan Krawicz of Vote Trust USA.
Fast forward to November 2020 and CNN is now claiming, on its website:
“…there is no evidence that Dominion machines used Smartmatic software, as Powell suggested — and thus zero connection between Venezuela and the company whose voting machines were actually used in the swing states Trump is focusing on. Both Dominion and Smartmatic have said that they are competitors with no corporate links.”
In fact, as exclusively reported by The National Pulse, Dominion and Smartmatic had a “noncompete” agreement spanning decades.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) complained to CNN’s Kitty Pilgrim in 2006: “That is why I wrote the Department of Treasury to ask about ownership of Smartmatic. In 2005, Sequoia Voting Systems was purchased by Smartmatic, a company primarily owned by Venezuelan businessmen.
“Its offshore, it is murky, no one seems to know who owns it. Certainly our government should know who owns it.”
“The use of some 19,000 electronic voting machines in the city of Chicago and Cook County Primary on March 21st of this year (2006) is under intense scrutiny.”
When Chicago had problems with the machines, a dozen Venezuelan employees were there to “help” with the election.
Dobbs told Pilgrim: “Let’s call the White House! Lets find out the answer so everyone knows by Monday evening. This is ridiculous!.”
“We’re looking into it actively Lou,” said Ms. Pilgrim.
