A report claims that political appointees at the Department of Homeland Security requested that cybersecurity agents secretly acquire and hack a voting machine.
Posted by Ask Dr. Drew, Checked
- Sources
- 3 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 82%
Ask Dr. DrewOct 21, 2026
ProPublica's October 19, 2026 investigation reports that DHS political appointees asked CISA to secretly acquire and hack a voting machine, so the claim that a report makes this allegation is accurately supported. The request was never carried out, which the post's wording ('who secretly acquired... and hacked it') implies otherwise, but the claim as extracted concerns the request.
What was said
… Then Michael Gates comes in. He is running for attorney general of California. His slogan is "Make America," excuse me, "Make Crime Illegal Again," and we're going to be talking about interesting discussion about voter fraud and integrity. New report claims that the Trump Homeland Security force asked cybersecurity agents who secretly acquired a voting machine and hacked it, but hackable voting machines are fake news, according to everyone in the press, so no concerns there. Another report from New York Post says federal agents busted a California voter fraud network earlier this week, but fraud is, of course, fake news, so we …
Ask Dr. Drew · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. ProPublica (Mannix and Clark, October 19, 2026) reports, citing two former administration officials, that DHS political appointees asked CISA to secretly procure a voting machine, hack it, and report findings to the White House.[1]
Supports. The Verge and IBTimes independently report the ProPublica findings: the request was made to CISA and was never fulfilled or carried out.[2][3]
Context. Coverage notes that CISA was told not to alert the voting machine manufacturer of any flaws found, and that staff repeatedly said the operation was impossible, so it was aborted.[4][5]
Sources
5 sources: 1 tier 2, 3 not rated, 1 tier 3
- 1Trump Appointees Asked a Federal Cybersecurity Agency to Secretly Acquire a Voting Machine — and Hack Itpropublica.org · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 2Trump officials reportedly asked staffers to secretly hack a ...theverge.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 3Trump Officials Asked Election Security Agency to Secretly ...ibtimes.co.uk · not rated · cited for: supports
- 4Horror as Trump aides’ ‘mind boggling’ secret voting machine hack request revealedrawstory.com · tier 3 · cited for: context
- 5Trump Administration Asked Cybersecurity Agency to Covertly ...securityboulevard.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- Political appointees at the Department of Homeland Security requested that CISA secretly acquire and hack a voting machine at the beginning of President Trump's second term.True
- Political appointees at the Department of Homeland Security requested that the agency secretly acquire and hack a voting machine a few months into President Donald Trump’s second term.True
- The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) attempted to acquire a voting machine but was blocked by internal opposition within the Department of Homeland Security.True
- A whistleblower alleged that inspectors under the direction of top Homeland Security leadership broke state laws to find noncitizens on voter rolls.True
- The Trump administration is planning to go raid voting machines.Can’t tell