Texas Secretary of State Agreed to Meet 'Election Conspiracy Theorist' Patrick Byrne
Texas Secretary of State John B. Scott, a Republican appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott to his post in October 2021, communicated directly with a conspiracy theorist pushing the debunked notion that President Joe Bidens victory was fraudulent and that the elections were marred by widespread voter fraud, according to text messages recently obtained by a D.C.-based watchdog.
The texts, which American Oversight says it obtained via a public records request, appear to show a direct line of communication between Scott and former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne, a prominent conspiracy theorist who had close ties with former President Donald Trump and who is expected to speak on Friday to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
"Although Secretary Scott has publicly maintained that his audit of the 2020 election is to confirm the results, privately, he has met with Trump allies and prominent election deniers," Dera Silvestre, American Oversight's communications manager, said by email.
"Patrick Byrne was a vocal supporter of the former presidents efforts to overturn his election loss," Silvestre said, "and the dangerous lies he and other conspiracy theorists peddle are an existential threat to democracy."
Read more: https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/as-texas-gop-waged-war-on-november-2020-vote-secretary-of-state-met-election-conspiracy-theorist-patrick-byrne-14406073