By Cathy Zhang
Former South Carolina senatorial race candidate Bill Bledsoe called on President Donald Trump to order the establishment of a military tribunal to investigate efforts by a foreign power to tamper with the presidential election. He added that he believed the forthcoming intelligence report on foreign threats to this year’s election will reveal evidence of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) interference.
Bledsoe, who is also vice chairman of the Constitution Party of South Carolina, said in a recent interview with The Epoch Times that he did not think the courts or legislature was going to do anything to investigate allegations of election fraud.
“So we really only have one option, as far as I can see,” Bledsoe said. “President Trump, if he’s going to save our country, is going to have to use … military courts, military tribunals.”
“President Trump’s the only one with the courage to do it, to do anything at all.”
Military tribunals, although rare, can be established by presidential order to try members of an enemy force during times of war.
Bledsoe characterized the CCP’s alleged efforts to interfere with the U.S. elections as an attack against America. “It’s a war that no bullets are going to be fired. It’s an electronic war,” he said.
He said that setting up a military tribunal would be different from declaring martial law, which Trump has dismissed, or invoking the Insurrection Act, which has been rejected by Trump’s legal adviser.
Bledsoe added that he believed the upcoming report from the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Ratcliffe will detail the CCP’s efforts to sway the elections.
The report was initially due on Dec. 18, but was delayed due to the intelligence community receiving relevant new information since the election and the fact that a “number of agencies have not finished coordinating on the product,” according to the Office of the DNI. It is now expected to be released next month.
The DNI report would show interference by China, Iran, and Russia, according to CBS News senior investigative correspondent Catherine Herridge, citing Ratcliffe’s comments to the outlet.
Last week, Trump floated the idea of appointing a special counsel to investigate election fraud allegations, the first time he has personally suggested the idea on Twitter.
“After seeing the massive Voter Fraud in the 2020 Presidential Election, I disagree with anyone that thinks a strong, fast, and fair Special Counsel is not needed, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump said in a Dec. 23 Twitter post.
“This was the most corrupt election in the history of our Country, and it must be closely examined!” he added.
The Trump campaign has alleged widespread voter fraud and claimed Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden’s lead was a result of a “national conspiracy” orchestrated by Democrats. Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani—who leads the effort to challenge the election results—said he has at least 1,000 sworn affidavits from citizens alleging wrongdoing that is “enough to overturn any election.”
Bowen Xiao contributed to this report.
