{"id":10229,"date":"2026-02-17T18:11:45","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T18:11:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2026\/02\/17\/kurt-olsen-trumps-stop-the-steal-lawyer-playing-a-major-white-house-role-the-week\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T18:11:45","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T18:11:45","slug":"kurt-olsen-trumps-stop-the-steal-lawyer-playing-a-major-white-house-role-the-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2026\/02\/17\/kurt-olsen-trumps-stop-the-steal-lawyer-playing-a-major-white-house-role-the-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Kurt Olsen: Trump\u2019s \u2018Stop the Steal\u2019 lawyer playing a major White House role – The Week"},"content":{"rendered":"
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While several notable conspiracy theorists work in the Trump administration, one who has flown under the radar is beginning to gain traction: Kurt Olsen. The attorney was hired by the White House last year to oversee election security and has recently ramped up his efforts to investigate the 2020 election. With the midterms on the horizon, Olsen\u2019s role within President Donald Trump\u2019s administration may be growing.<\/p>\n

Olsen\u2019s beginnings and election denial<\/h2>\n

He notably \u201cjoined the Texas attorney general\u2019s attempt to get the Supreme Court to stop four swing states from certifying Biden’s 2020 victory over Trump,\u201d said USA Today. The lawyer grew closer to Trump after the election<\/a> and had \u201cmultiple phone calls\u201d with him on Jan. 6, 2021, the day of the U.S. Capitol riot, Politico<\/a> reported in 2022.<\/p>\n

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Director of election security<\/h2>\n

The White House hired Olsen in October 2025 as the president\u2019s head of election security, and gave him the \u201cpower to refer criminal investigations \u2014 criminal investigations into things that have been thoroughly debunked,\u201d said The New York Times<\/a>. Olsen is one of several prominent election deniers working for the administration who is \u201cusing the power of the state to keep Trump\u2019s denialism alive.\u201d But even in a \u201cconstellation of conspiracists, Olsen stands out.\u201d<\/p>\n

One crucial moment on the national stage for Olsen came in January 2026, when the FBI used a search warrant to seize ballots and records<\/a> related to the 2020 race from an election center in Fulton County, Georgia. The FBI\u2019s investigation \u201coriginated from a referral sent by Kurt Olsen,\u201d an affidavit<\/a> for the search warrant said. The FBI was allegedly looking for irregularities in Georgia\u2019s elections at Olsen\u2019s behest.<\/p>\n

This is not the only situation in which he has seemingly had significant power in the White House. Trump has \u201cdirected top U.S. spy agencies to share sensitive intelligence about the 2020 election\u201d with Olsen, according to Politico<\/a>. This led him to review \u201csome sensitive compartmented intelligence programs, which are among the most highly classified material stored by U.S. spy agencies.\u201d This move is unusual given that Olsen has \u201cno known experience working with the U.S. spy community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The CIA<\/a> later confirmed that the agency is working with Olsen<\/a>. \u201cThe president has asked Olsen to look at intelligence related to the 2020 election and the agency is ensuring that he has the access necessary to do his work,\u201d a CIA spokesperson told Politico. This all comes as many are sounding the alarm about his involvement. Olsen has a \u201chistory of abusing his law license to spread lies about our elections,\u201d Christine P. Sun, a senior vice president at the States United Democracy Center, told the Times. \u201cNow, he\u2019s using his role in the administration and the power of the federal government to take actions fueled by those same lies.\u201d<\/p>\n

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