The Adam Carolla Show
Episode: How Elections Are Stolen with Ralph Pezzullo and Gary Berntsen
Date: September 4, 2025
Main Guests:
- Ralph Pezzullo (Author, Stolen Elections: The Takedown of Democracies Worldwide)
- Gary Berntsen (Former CIA Station Chief, Whistleblower, Co-author of Jawbreaker)
Episode Overview
This episode dives deep into claims of global election manipulation, focusing on the infiltration of electronic voting systems by foreign criminal cartels and intelligence agencies—primarily Venezuela, Cuba, China, and Russia. Adam Carolla hosts returning guest and investigative author Ralph Pezzullo and, for the first time, decorated former CIA officer Gary Berntsen, who share details from their four-year investigation into election fraud and the organizations behind it. The discussion explores the origins of compromised election technology, the complicit role of media and government officials, and the implications for American democracy.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Origins of Election Interference
[02:01] Ralph Pezzullo:
- Introduces the genesis of the investigation—a collaboration with a Venezuelan expert, Martin Rodil, who has spent years investigating election fraud.
- Gary Berntsen, a former CIA officer, becomes a partner in uncovering the criminal networks.
[05:19] Pezzullo:
- Four-year investigation identifies a “criminal organization led by Venezuela, with Cuba, China, Russia, Serbia involved, conspiring to steal elections worldwide since 2006.”
[09:24] Pezzullo & Berntsen:
- Describes how Hugo Chávez’s regime, with Cuban help, developed electronic voting software (engineers from Venezuela’s top tech schools, machines from Italy’s Olivetti, proprietary source code).
- The software enabled Chávez to survive a recall and sparked the exporting of these techniques throughout Latin America and to the U.S.
2. Penetration of U.S. Electoral Systems
[12:20] Pezzullo & Berntsen:
- States the software first manipulated results in U.S. elections in Cook County, Illinois (2006), allegedly affecting the Democratic primary and Obama’s rise.
- Ownership was concealed through complex shell companies—eventually landing the software in “Sequoia,” and then Toronto-based “Dominion,” with wide deployment in American swing states.
Berntsen [17:39]:
“Dominion will do elections in America. Smartmatic will do them globally... The source code is owned by the Venezuelan government, not the company.”
- Details how the process enables targeted, not mass, fraud—determining key counties to tip swings, making total numbers “not relevant.”
3. Media Complicity & Settlements
[23:15] Berntsen:
- Fox News and Newsmax were briefed with evidence and offered witnesses, but instead “confessed and paid $787.5 million in the case of Fox to the cartel.”
- Suggests settlements were a way to prevent further investigation and keep the public in the dark.
Carolla [25:09]:
“Why did those intelligence agents do that? We have the same situation here, is that there are people in our intelligence service who have been paid off by the cartel.”
4. Mechanics of Electronic Election Fraud
[19:28] Pezzullo:
- Explains in detail how the fraud involves poll books, advance planning (“plan a year ahead of time”), use of dead voters, mail-in ballots, and shaving votes in specific districts.
- Audits are undermined by machine design (source code proprietary, results pictures can be swapped, etc.)
Berntsen [68:29]: “Their source code is proprietary and can’t be shared. You can’t look in it because it’s a criminal conspiracy.”
5. Foreign Interference Beyond Venezuela
[28:13] Berntsen:
- China is described as a more significant technical threat than Russia, financing and supporting systems used for fraud.
- Smartmatic’s code reportedly used in elections in over 72 countries, favoring leftists or, at times, right-wingers who “pay more.”
6. Who Knew? Assigning Culpability
A recurring theme—Adam challenges the guests to score political and media figures (Obama, Clinton, Biden, Pelosi, Schiff, Soros, John Brennan, etc.) on a 1–10 scale:
- Barack Obama: 10 (“manchurian candidate...right at the top” [46:35, 48:05])
- John Brennan (CIA Director): 9 (“acolyte...has more control over CIA even now” [48:36])
- Hillary Clinton: 2 (“she was a victim, thought she was going to win, not aware of technical details” [62:34])
- Joe Biden: 10 or 9.5 (“sat in the basement…15 million more votes than Obama…no crowds” [68:43])
- Nancy Pelosi/Adam Schiff/etc.: Lower, but described as committed leftists, with some being “useful idiots,” others aware and complicit ([83:01], [87:11])
7. Failures & Corruption in U.S. Institutions
- FBI, CIA, State Department, NGOs, and the media all implicated in facilitating or ignoring foreign election interference.
- Many journalists are described as willful suppressors of truth, not just lazy.
- “Green badgers”—retired intelligence personnel—allegedly motivated to protect their own jobs.
Berntsen [56:27]: "We went to the press…they wouldn't report it. The press wouldn't see us. Congress, even on the far right, [was] intimidated."
8. Comparison to COVID, Disinformation, and Collapse of Public Trust
- Adam and guests draw parallels between the suppression of COVID origin theories, the stifling of dissent about election results, and the broader landscape of media dishonesty.
- The “useful idiots” in academia and media are seen as key to this process.
Carolla [76:42]:
“You are the useful idiots. You're the foot soldiers in this entire scenario.”
9. Solution Proposals
[104:17] All:
- Return to paper ballots and in-person, single-day voting.
- Strict ID requirements; restrict mail-in ballots only to disabled/ill.
- Both political parties present for ballot handling and counting.
- Overhaul U.S. intelligence and counterintelligence services, mass firings, creation of new institutions.
- Rebuild honest, independent journalism.
Berntsen [62:24]:
“When you see the book, you'll see how the engineers created 14 different technical means to change an election...The machines are all manufactured outside Beijing...using software from Venezuela, hardware from China. What could possibly go wrong?”
Memorable Quotes & Notable Moments
- Carolla [07:32]:
“People that are...running drugs, human trafficking, or whatever you’re up to—you want business as usual. You don’t want disruptors.”
- Berntsen [21:52]:
“The Venezuelan regime...the Cartel del Sol...is the wealthiest, most powerful criminal enterprise in the history of the world. They have paid off everybody on all sides.”
- Pezzullo [41:30]:
“A third of the population has left [Venezuela].”
- Berntsen [43:43] on Anderson Cooper’s Dominion interview:
“He’s going to want that interview to have disappeared, because John Polis knows what he’s doing. He bought the system, he’s colluding with the cartel.”
- Carolla [110:06]:
“It’s the officer saying, ‘pop the trunk’ theorem...At a certain point, why aren’t you popping the trunk?”
Important Timestamps
- [03:38–05:19] – Adam’s skepticism about politicians' stated priorities on election security; Ralph introduces the transnational network behind election theft.
- [10:21–12:20] – Development and deployment of Venezuela’s election software; its arrival in the U.S. via corporate shell games.
- [17:39–19:28] – Mechanics of Dominion-Smartmatic deal, hiding Venezuelan ownership, and the way elections are targeted for fraud.
- [25:09–26:51] – Discussion of media settlements and payola as the underlying force in politics and news coverage.
- [45:30–48:05] – Assigning degrees of guilt to top U.S. leaders in election fraud.
- [68:29–69:41] – How source code and audit design make fraud—and its detection—nearly impossible.
- [104:17–105:27] – Concrete proposals for election integrity: paper ballots, ID, single-day voting.
Conclusion & Call to Action
The episode concludes with a consensus that the only way to restore faith in elections is through a return to paper-based, in-person, ID-mandated voting, and a mass overhaul of corrupt institutions. The hosts warn of dire consequences if action isn’t taken and urge listeners to remain skeptical, seek out independent voices, and demand accountability from U.S. institutions. The guests’ new book, Stolen Elections, is positioned as a roadmap to understanding and dismantling these global conspiracies.
Further Resources
- Book: Ralph Pezzullo’s Stolen Elections: The Takedown of Democracies Worldwide
- Website: stolenelectionsfacts.com (outlined as containing detailed history and evidence)
Summary by: The Adam Carolla Show Podcast Summarizer (2025)