Podcast Summary: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: David Rutherford Show: "The Biggest Election Scandal in U.S. History" — Ralph Pezzullo Reveals the Global Conspiracy Undermining America
Date: December 8, 2025
Host: David Rutherford (guest hosting)
Guest: Ralph Pezzullo (Author, Journalist)

Episode Overview

This gripping episode centers on Ralph Pezzullo's new book exposing what he and his collaborators claim is a global conspiracy to undermine American democracy through corrupt election systems. The discussion tracks the origins of electronic voting manipulation, the shadowy interplay of criminal cartels, foreign adversaries, and well-known election technology companies. Together, Rutherford and Pezzullo focus on Smartmatic, Dominion, Venezuela, and a network of global actors. They dig deep into the scale of the alleged threat, its roots, and why both feel this story is "the most important in American history."

Key Discussion Points & Insights

How the Story Found Pezzullo (05:34)

• Meeting the Source:
  Pezzullo recounts his introduction to "the greatest DEA source," Martin Rodill, who claimed to have investigated election fraud for three years. Rodill invited Pezzullo to view a detailed, evidence-packed presentation, leaving the author "stunned" and convinced of a major threat ([05:34]).
• Genesis of the Book:
  Pezzullo wrote the book rapidly after agreeing to help, but a publisher ultimately pulled out over fear of lawsuits ("the book was held up for a year until I could get out of the contract and I had to publish it myself" [08:55]).

The Core Allegation: The Global Conspiracy (10:10–14:51)

• America’s political consciousness, Pezzullo and Rutherford argue, is easily distracted—a design of intentional "flood the system" media.
• Rutherford praises Pezzullo: "What is so brilliant about your writing...is just how proficient you lay it out to where it's understandable" ([11:01]).
• Social media censorship before the 2020 election is cited as an example of silencing voices and fostering suspicion.

Origins of the Plot (15:10–20:27)

• Where It Begins:
  Pezzullo claims the "plot" starts in Venezuela with Hugo Chavez, guided by Fidel Castro and his intelligence service to "steal" a referendum via rigged electronic voting machines ([15:10]).
• The Engineers:
  Three Venezuelan engineers—Antonio Mujica, Alfredo Jose Anzola, and Roger Piñate—developed the core software ([17:21]).
• Spread to the US:
  Smartmatic is founded by these Venezuelan engineers in Boca Raton, Florida. Pezzullo claims the "source code is owned by Venezuela" and is unchanged, despite corporate shell games ([20:24]).

Software Penetration, US Approval, & Systemic Failures (20:26–25:11)

• Legislators and embassy officials (notably from NY and Caracas) raised red flags in the early 2000s, questioning the acceptance of foreign-owned voting tech.
• Third-party expert reviews (from MIT and Berkeley) noted backdoors: "They came back and basically wrote a report saying, hey, this software looks like it was designed to steal elections" ([22:56]).

The First US Elections & Manipulation (31:00–34:41)

• Foreign powers (China, Iran, Russia) become involved, seeing "hybrid warfare" value in corrupting US elections.
• "The first US election that they ran was in Cook County, Illinois, when Obama was running in the Democratic primary against Hillary Clinton...and they stole the election for Obama" ([32:55]).

Cartel del Sol, Drug Money, and the Global Web (34:41–40:24)

• Chavez channels oil money and criminal enterprise to fund a militarized cartel, Cartel del Sol, handling drug trade and money laundering at trillion-dollar scales ([36:42]).
• Pezzullo describes Mexican cartels as mere "taxi drivers" while Venezuelan networks are the "Costco of cartels" ([37:39]).

The Dominion Connection (40:44–46:57)

• Smartmatic, after buying Sequoia, fails to secure contracts in California and "sells" assets to Dominion (a micro Canadian company), giving the impression of separation, but Pezzullo claims the software and influence remain ([41:05]).
• Mark Malloch Brown, close associate of George Soros, is said to bridge Dominion leadership and globalist NGOs, later becoming president of the Open Society Foundations ([47:13]).

Notable Quote

"He was the president of Smartmatic. After the 2020 election, he was awarded with the presidency of the Open Society Foundations. So the connection is very obvious."
— Ralph Pezzullo (47:21)

Systemic Media and Institutional Blindness (48:04–53:41)

• Pezzullo laments the disappearance of investigative journalism: "It's just weird, David. It's like the press doesn't look at any of this stuff" ([48:04]).
• The investigative credentials of Pezzullo’s partners (Gary Berntsen and Martin Rodill) are highlighted—they originally stumbled onto election fraud through money laundering probes ([51:37]).
• Government counterintelligence failures are called "an immense failure" ([65:43]).

Counterintelligence and Global Penetration (53:41–59:02)

• Frank Holder, a Cuban agent turned CIA informant, is alleged to be a paymaster for the Cartel del Sol while influencing US security consultancies ([53:41]).
• Example: Holder was contracted to assess election fraud after 2020, but Pezzullo asserts he is a compromised source: "Well, Frank Holder is a Cuban spy" ([57:30]).

Hybrid Warfare in Practice (59:02–66:51)

• Under the Obama administration, US intelligence operations in South America were told to stand down, a sign of deep penetration ([59:02]).
• Pezzullo draws parallels to post-9/11 shifts in US focus and the resulting vulnerabilities.

Scale of the Problem: Global Reach (67:11–70:33)

• Smartmatic is used in "72 countries" according to Pezzullo ([67:26]).
• Reports of election thefts and unrest are described in Georgia (the country), Poland, Romania, and most notably, Brazil.
• US-funded agencies (e.g., USAID and CEPS) allegedly act as Smartmatic's "marketing wing," pressuring other countries to adopt the technology ([69:03]).

Frustrations and Action Steps (71:04–81:44)

• Despite sharing findings with authorities, Pezzullo describes institutional slow-walking and hesitancy across administrations.
• DOJ and FBI find "everything to be 100% legitimate," but do not act rapidly ([71:44]).
• Pezzullo and his collaborators focus efforts now on building public awareness and a "groundswell" to push elected officials and media for real action.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On encountering the evidence:

  "As soon as I saw the evidence...it just struck me as true. I felt terrible for our country that we had been attacked this way."
  — Ralph Pezzullo ([12:41])

• On the journalistic climate:

  "It's like, if you criticize Karen Bass or her handling of the fires...you're a Trump guy. Or a racist. And it's like, I don't really care what your political affiliation is if you're good at what you do."
  — Ralph Pezzullo ([45:30])

• On the magnitude:

  "Smartmatic runs elections in 72 countries around the world...All the major countries in the world are using smartmatic software."
  — Ralph Pezzullo ([67:26])

• On investigative credentials:

  "These guys are not theorists. They're not promoting any point of view. They're just investigators."
  — Ralph Pezzullo ([51:37])

• On institutional failure:

  "We pay trillions of dollars in taxes to these intelligence agencies...and they didn't see it. What an immense failure."
  — Ralph Pezzullo ([65:43])

• On the impact if unaddressed:

  "If we don't get our elections back, nothing else matters. The whole game is over."
  — David Rutherford ([75:53])

Key Timestamps

• 03:10: Show introduction, framing the episode as exposing a world-wide anti-democratic conspiracy
• 05:34: Pezzullo shares how he got involved through DEA sources
• 15:10: Pezzullo explains origins in Venezuelan politics
• 20:26: Discussion of proprietary source code and U.S. government suspicions
• 32:55: Allegations of the first US election "stolen" via the system
• 34:41: Explanation of Cartel del Sol’s rise and funding
• 41:05: Smartmatic/Dominion relationship detailed
• 47:13: Mark Malloch Brown and Soros/NGO connections
• 53:41: The story of Frank Holder and intelligence failures
• 59:02: U.S. intelligence told to "stand down" in South America
• 67:26: Scale of Smartmatic's international reach
• 69:03: USAID's role in marketing Smartmatic overseas
• 71:44: US agencies slow to respond even after validating evidence
• 76:47: Pezzullo’s plan for further exposure, need for public pressure
• 81:15: The book’s evidence comes directly from the whistleblower presentations

Conclusion & Call to Action

Rutherford and Pezzullo argue the revelations in Pezzullo's book constitute an existential threat to democratic sovereignty—an ongoing act of "hybrid warfare" by a coalition of criminal, foreign, and ideological adversaries. Both urge listeners to demand accountability from public officials and media, warning that nothing less than the American republic is at stake. They call for a "groundswell" of citizen engagement and a return to informed vigilance.

This summary provides an in-depth look at the episode’s structure, arguments, and significant moments, keeping the show's forthright, alarmed, and investigative tone intact. For anyone who missed the episode, it captures the full scope and urgency of the conversation without editorializing the claims made by the speakers.