More than a year after voters elected President Joe Biden and 10 months after the results were certified third party suppliercontracted through Pennsylvania Senate Republican Caucusintends to launch a review of the 2020 general election and 2021 primary election.
The Pennsylvania Senate has entered into a six-month, $270.00 contract with: Envoy Sage Limited as part efforts to study the electoral process and identify possible weaknesses in state election law. The company had no direct experience conducting election investigations, according to its website.
But apart Steven Lahrpresident of an Iowa-based consulting firm, little is known about Envoy Sage’s clients or past project history.
Without going into details about the investigation or the team conducting it during Tuesday’s press call, Lahr and Sen. Cris Dush, R-Jefferson, who as committee chairman is leading the taxpayer-funded investigation, Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committeesaid they were focused on election integrity.
“Our role is to provide investigative expertise, tools and analysis that are not organic to the Senate,” Lahr said.
Legal challenges delayed the State Department’s potential release of voter information, including driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers. Arguments for consolidated mattersfiled by legislative Democrats and state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, are scheduled for a Dec. 15 hearing in the Commonwealth Court.
In the meantime, Rep. Sage will review some of the information provided by the Department of State, but not private voter information.
During the interview, Dush did not answer reporters’ questions. However, in his opening remarks, he said the review aims to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the electoral system. He added that updates may not come as often as they would like.
The Envoy Sage contract includes document analysis, consultation, review of election-related concerns and affidavits, analysis of election integrity initiatives, and planning and consulting services to review any information received from the Department of State. The contract also has the option to extend if necessary.
Lahr, an Army veteran who worked for more than two decades at the U.S. Department of Defense, did not respond to an interview request Friday or a detailed list of questions sent Monday morning.
On Tuesday, he boasted about his time in the military and his work in the private sector, telling reporters he had more than 35 years of experience conducting research, analysis and audits. He added that Envoy Sage enters the review “without preconceived notions of what we will or will not find.”
“The facts we collect, both digital and physical, will be the lifeblood of our investigative services,” he said. “We will address any concerns, data or information submitted by Commonwealth citizens via [Senate election investigation] website or to us by the commission, with fidelity, due care and the utmost discretion.”
In 2005, he founded the Lahr company Silverback 7defense contracting company. He also worked as the company’s director of strategy and director of business development Patriot Defense Groupmilitary contractor.
He filed to form Envoy Sage in August 2021, according to public records.
On its website, Envoy Sage describes its leaders and staff as veterans of U.S. intelligence organizations and U.S. Special Operations Command, but does not name them.
Business lists past work investigating fraud and embezzlement in the oil industry, investigating international corporate mergers, and exposing disinformation from non-governmental organizations.
However, the company does not provide any details, such as customer names or service dates.
When asked to name a specific contract or project on which he handled confidential information, Lahr declined, saying most of his work was “confidential and classified at the highest levels for the U.S. government and the Department of Defense.”
“I have no right to discuss these contracts, especially the details of these contracts,” Lahr said. “While conducting investigations for government agencies and the Department of Defense, we handled a huge amount of personal data and classified information. “This information, these techniques and our procedures will be very valuable to the Senate investigation.”
Lahr did not answer multiple questions about Envoy Sage employees – how many of them are helping with the investigation and what they will have access to. Lahr, who did not respond to a follow-up call with press, listed Mike Mall as a member of the Envoy Sage team but did not disclose his role at the company.
“Our team has the ability to scale as we need more of the expertise of members,” Lahr said on a call Tuesday, adding that recent employees could be added as full-time employees or contractors. “When we need to close a deal, we have the ability to do so, so we are very flexible in quickly expanding the team with expertise and supporting the client as needed during the investigative process.”
Federal Election Commission reports show that in October 2020, Lahr made donations to the Republican National Congressional Committee and a number of Republican candidates, including $250 to U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina.
Defending the donation to Graham on Tuesday, Lahr said: “A member of my family donated this amount and as an American citizen, I don’t think it takes away from my ability, personally… to support candidates on the left or right. I have supported candidates who are Democrats and candidates who are Republicans.”
The donations, however, did not raise a red flag for Dush, who said earlier this fall that the Senate would not hire a company tied to candidates who appeared on the 2020 or 2021 ballot.
“I have worked professionally for both Democratic and Republican administrations and have managed to put a firewall between my personal and professional business interactions,” Lahr added. “I consider myself a very two-sided, honest person and I will behave as such.”
