ODNI Seizes Puerto Rico Voting Machines Amid Cybersecurity Probe

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), under Director Tulsi Gabbard, seized electronic voting machines and data from Puerto Rico in May 2025. The agency characterized the operation as a forensic analysis of system vulnerabilities, claiming it discovered extremely concerning cybersecurity and operational deployment practices, including software flaws and cellular modems connecting to networks outside the United States.

Despite ODNI's focus on general vulnerabilities, reports indicate the probe primarily aimed to investigate unproven claims that Venezuela hacked the machines. The investigation, conducted with the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations, produced no evidence of Venezuelan interference. The ODNI has denied any specific link to Venezuela, maintaining the seizure was standard forensic practice.

Democratic leaders in Congress condemned the operation as an unprecedented overreach. Senator Mark Warner questioned the legality of using intelligence tools for domestic election administration without a foreign nexus, while Senator Chuck Schumer accused the administration of trying to intimidate local officials. The probe coincides with a separate FBI raid on an election facility in Fulton County, Georgia, where Director Gabbard was physically present. President Donald Trump praised Gabbard's efforts to keep the election safe, while Jorge Rivera Rueda of the Puerto Rico State Commission on Elections pledged full cooperation with federal authorities.