Tina Peters, the former Colorado election official imprisoned over a breach of her county’s voting system, is pressing President Donald Trump to send federal law enforcement into the vote counting process. Peters said she met with Trump in October and argued that he already possesses the authority to act.

Peters has joined other election skeptics in claiming that federal law permits Trump’s executive branch to intervene without court warrants or cooperation from states. “I think the president knows his powers,” said Peters.

Her attorney, Peter Ticktin, has floated an even more extreme response. In a separate interview with MS NOW, Ticktin suggested Trump should be prepared to “enter an emergency order that basically would be tantamount to martial law.”

Asked whom he was urging to carry out that proposal, Ticktin answered, “With those whose ear I have.” Peters and Ticktin have not disclosed details of their conversations with Trump or said how receptive he was to their ideas.

Peters said she has met personally with Trump at least twice since leaving a Colorado prison in June. One meeting occurred in the Oval Office and included Ticktin, according to Peters.

“I don’t want you to overestimate my influence on the White House. You know, they’ve been gracious enough to grant me an audience, and I don’t take that lightly,” Peters said.

Peters also acknowledged that she does not have major influence over the administration, while saying officials were willing to listen and receive information. She added that administration officials would decide what to do with it.

Federal law enforcement can investigate suspected election crimes, but obtaining ballots or voting equipment generally requires legal procedures such as a search warrant or subpoena. In January, the FBI obtained 2020 ballots from Fulton County, Georgia, under a search warrant approved by a federal magistrate judge.

The Constitution assigns states responsibility for administering elections, subject to rules established by Congress. Federal judges have repeatedly blocked Trump’s attempts to assert control, and U.S. District Judge Denise Casper wrote in one ruling, “The Constitution does not grant the President any specific powers over elections.”

A federal law dating to the Civil War also makes it a crime to send troops or armed federal agents to locations where elections are being held. On Friday, a federal judge temporarily barred the Justice and Homeland Security departments from threatening election workers with prosecution for counting ballots.

The judge found that the agencies had likely exceeded their constitutional authority. MS NOW contacted the White House on Sunday about whether Trump had considered using federal law enforcement or the military to investigate or seize ballots or voting equipment, but the White House did not comment.

Peters was convicted by a Colorado jury after allowing an unauthorized person to access, photograph and distribute files and hard drive information from county voting systems while she served as a county clerk. The information was later published by Gateway Pundit, and Peters continues to deny wrongdoing.

Peters said she also participated in a Zoom meeting with officials from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which helps state election administrators address cyber threats. Trump previously claimed his administration had uncovered “critical intelligence revealing shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure,” but the White House provided no evidence that voting systems had been hacked or hampered.

Trump referred to “crooked machines” during a campaign rally in Iowa on Sunday. Earlier this year, he told The New York Times that he regretted not ordering the National Guard to seize vote tabulating machines after the 2020 presidential election.

Draft memos circulated at the time that would have authorized the Pentagon or Homeland Security Department to attempt such seizures if Trump had signed them. Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, attorney Sidney Powell and Patrick Byrne were among the outside allies who urged that course during a White House meeting.

Ticktin said a more aggressive Trump response could become necessary if Tuesday’s results showed a sizable Democratic wave. He said losing the House by one or two seats might not cause a major reaction, but offered the hypothetical of 10 Senate seats moving to Democrats.

Mike Lindell, who helped finance Peters’ legal defense and was found liable for defamatory claims about 2020 election machinery, outlined a separate legal effort. He told MS NOW that he planned to file a class action lawsuit after the election targeting states’ use of electronic tabulating systems.