The temptation here is to believe that something illegal, illegitimate, or even unethical occurred during the election, that the powerful “rigged” or “stole” the presidency from Republicans. However, there is nothing in the report to suggest any such thing happened. No laws were illegally subverted; no votes were switched by third-party shenanigans. Powerful, like-minded groups banded together to lobby tech companies, news media, and voters directly. They banded together to monitor vote-counting, as did Republicans. They banded together to protest the former president’s efforts to dispute the outcome of the election. They also banded together to confront lawmakers who they feared would be sympathetic to the president’s claim that the election was stolen.

None of this amounts to “rigging” or “stealing” the election, especially as Republicans are perfectly free to coordinate similar efforts. If the main contention here is that it is somehow unfair that the Left should be able to marshal such power and influence, well, that is not the same thing as claiming the election was “stolen.” It is just as wrong to say that the 2020 election was “stolen” because anti-Trump CEOs and activists pooled their collective efforts and resources as it is to say that Koch support for conservative candidates and policies represents a grievous attack on our republic. Let’s not mistake political advocacy and ground game for a widespread conspiracy of criminal or corrupt behavior.