A 2006 CNN Segment Warned of Democracy Being for Sale to “Venezuelan Controlled” Smartmatic

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A CNN segment from 2006 predicted a scenario in which U.S. democracy could be for sale, as it detailed efforts of “Venezuelan controlled” Smartmatic to buy domestic voting software firm, Sequoia Voting Systems.

“Critics say our very democracy is now for sale, without anyone doing a thing about it,” said then-CNN anchor Lou Dobbs.

“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,” said Joan Krawicz of Vote Trust USA.

Stories on CNN come from a much different editorial angle today.

“…there is no evidence that Dominion machines used Smartmatic software, as [Sidney] 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,” CNN’s website read this month.

We’ve reported on a “non-compete” agreement that existed between Dominion and Smartmatic that seems to belie the firms’ status solely as “competitors.”

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