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- Former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne said he’s financing “a team of hackers and cybersleuths” in an attempt to uncover evidence of voter fraud, according to The Daily Beast.
- Byrne, who stepped down from his position at Overstock last year, has described the 2020 presidential election as “rigged” against President Donald Trump, but has yet to offer any concrete evidence of voter fraud.
- In recent days, Byrne has gone on a media tour of sorts, visiting right-leaning outlets such as the One America News Network (OAN) and Newsmax.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne said that he’s financing “a team of hackers and cybersleuths” in an attempt to prove that President Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election, according to The Daily Beast.
Byrne, who stepped down from his position at Overstock last year after admitting to a relationship with a Russian spy, recently went on the One America News Network (OAN), a conservative news outlet and a favored media destination of Trump, to detail what he described as a “rigged” election process.
Dominion Voting Systems, a company that provided election voting software in several key presidential battlegrounds, has been a target for right-wing grievances about the presidential election. For weeks, the company has sought to fend off debunked and outlandish allegations that the company facilitated voting irregularities.
In the interview, OAN made reference to Dominion machines when discussing election irregularities, which Byrne insisted was the key to Trump’s loss.
“I’ve funded a team of hackers and cybersleuths and other people with odd skills” to uncover fraud, he said in the interview.
Despite the Trump campaign's numerous attempts to prove otherwise in court, there have been no verifiable instances of mass voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
Byrne remains undaunted by President-elect Joe Biden's 306-232 Electoral College vote victory, going on a media tour of sorts, visiting right-leaning outlets such as OAN and Newsmax. The former chief executive has been unable to substantiate his claims of fraud, but that has endeared him to some conservative activists who still believe Trump has a chance of overturning the results.
"Despite his vague claims, Byrne says he's been funneling allegations about the election to the White House and one-time Trump lawyer Sidney Powell for weeks," the Daily Beast reported. "Byrne's claims are similar to those Powell has made publicly, including an allegation that deceased Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez somehow meddled in the election seven years after his death."
Byrne has a history of eccentric behavior.
In 2019, he released a statement stating that "Men in Black" federal officials asked him to engage in a relationship with Russian agent Maria Butina, an individual who tried to infiltrate conservative political groups.
Overstock's stock declined, and Byrne resigned soon after the incident. Since he left the company, sales have increased and the company's stock price has surged.
On his personal blog, Byrne indicated that he has fled the US, with his interviews being conducted from unknown locations.