Trump's attorney general won't rule out DOJ action to stop states from certifying midterms results | The Independent
Category: News & Politics
Via: evilone • 2 weeks ago • 37 commentsBy: Alex Woodward (The Independent)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Todd Blanche suggests the Justice Department could intervene in a 'doomsday' scenario as federal agents ramp up investigations and prosecutions while voting is already underway
Attorney General Todd Blanche said won't rule out having the Department of Justice take action that could block states from certifying election results.
"Yes, of course there's scenarios we could all come up with, hypothetically — some 'doomsday' scenario, for example," he told reporters Thursday. "I don't think it's proper to make any kind of conclusory statements about what could happen in the future."
While it's "never" the Justice Department's intention to "improperly interfere with elections or the state confirmation process or certification process," he told reporters, "to say that there's no circumstances that we would ever do that, of course, I'm not going to say that," he said.
"But am I planning my days around the election to be somewhere to not certify? Of course not," he added.
His comments follow the Justice Department's blitz of investigations to find evidence of alleged voter fraud, including door-to-door searches for noncitizen voters and criminal prosecutions and lawsuits in California that could derail ballot counting in the state.
The Justice Department also is mulling whether to launch more election-related litigation against states after losing more than two dozen lawsuits over access to voter data and the Supreme Court's rejection of President Donald Trump's plan to overhaul mail-in voting.
Government attorneys sued California to force state officials to review whether 18,000 registered voters had fraudulently cast their ballots. California is among eight states with an all-mail election, and ballots are sent to registered voters' households automatically. Trump also votes by mail — he voted by mail twice in 2026 and is expected to cast his ballot for Florida's general elections this fall.
The Justice Department's role in U.S. elections is strictly limited by law and the Constitution, which ensures that states have the sole authority to administer elections.
"We've seen this from administration officials in the past where they refuse to rule out clearly unconstitutional and illegal things," according to David Becker, executive director and founder of the nonpartisan and nonprofit Center for Election and Innovation Research.
Though the Justice Department has "no authority" over the certification process, and courts would likely block the federal government from doing so, the Trump administration appears to be signaling that it could try to intervene, Becker told reporters Thursday.
"It's not responsible for them to do that," he said.
The Justice Department's attempts to interfere would be merely "performative," knowing full well that "they don't have the power," Becker added.
"The more social media and press that the DOJ does, and less that they're litigating successfully in court, tells [us] that they're using it as a political propaganda arm," he said.
On Wednesday, a federal judge in California blocked the Department of Homeland Security from carrying out field operations intended to uncover voter fraud in nine states as part of the Trump administration's "Unlawful Voter Initiative," which ties the president's anti-immigration campaign to "election integrity."
The ruling from District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin blocks federal agents carrying out field interviews that "involve or are likely to involve persons" who agents "know, suspect, or should reasonably know or suspect are U.S. citizens."
The administration's surge of officers is likely to intimidate or suppress voter participation and registration, with just days left before Election Day. The fears of voting rights groups who filed the lawsuit as well as the "public's interest in safe elections, free from interference or intimidation, far exceed defendants' purported interest in combating unlawful voting by non-U.S. citizens," Martinez-Olguin wrote.
Homeland Security "surveils, covertly infiltrates and interrogates the staff of nonprofits and churches conducting voter engagement" and had targeted nearly 150 such nonprofit groups as of July, according to court filings.
Internal documents introduced in the case revealed that agents were directed to focus on California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement's criminal investigation arm has also been tasked with trying to "dismantle illicit facilitation networks" accused of registering noncitizens to vote, according to internal documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by legal advocacy group Democracy Forward and shared with The Independent.
Documents show that ICE's Homeland Security Investigations division obtained more than 48 million records from Heather Honey, a right-wing election activist who supported Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election. She now serves as a deputy assistant secretary for election integrity at Homeland Security.
Following reports of door-to-door operations targeting alleged fraud, a spokesperson for Homeland Security Investigations told The Independent that the agency is "committed to protecting the cornerstone of the nation's democracy" and "committed to restoring integrity to our election systems and ensuring that American citizens and only American citizens are electing American leaders."
The agency "reviews voter records to determine whether the evidence supports a criminal investigation and, where appropriate, refers the matter to the Department of Justice for prosecution," the person said.
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Is Todd afraid he'll be pulled in front of a Democrat run House committee to answer for his dumbassery?
If the Democrats win big and widely there may not be any intervention by the DOJ. If results are close in some key races it is a certainty that they will try and steal it.
I've heard that before. Everyone knows this will be the most watched election in history now, so we'll see what they try to do and what they actually get away with doing.
The planned VOTE STEAL is upon us, and has been since "TRUMP", and others like PUTIN (Trump idol, or wannabe "Lap Dog), ELON MUSK, who has damaged our Election process with his manipulations of government documents and stealing of all the files available, in addition to his interference with Ukraine's War.
Trump and Musk must be STOPPED!
Our NATION is under siege by these perverts, self-serving killers!
It will not require some ‘doomsday scenario’.
It sadly and expectedly is the MO for this administration. No evidence, no problem..,as they run roughshod over every aspect of our history, our government, our lives.
To many deeply ignorant, racist lazy weak rightwing conservatives, losing their grip on power is a "doomsday scenario". They don't know what life would look like without white rightwing conservative Christians in charge of everything and they're scared shitless of that happening in their xenophobic backwards States that they've kept that way intentionally.
Bulldoze first, submit applications for permission later.
Existing laws in the way? Suspend them through Executive privilege or the next mock "National Security Declaration".
No one butt Trump would even attempt this but because he has so many millions of gullible Americans tucked in his, let's call it 'pocket', he can shit on the rest of us and the constitution and we all have to wait for the next election cycle to stop the damage.
I voted and I have faith in the process. those that attempt to interfere with our election deserve to look over their shoulders ...
“I voted and I have faith in the process.”
Good on both counts.
And if one is blindly buying into the election fraud conspiracy, allow yourself a chance to get educated…become an election judge or a poll watcher. You will find the system works. Otherwise, you are only aiding and abetting the very real threat to our democratic traditions.
however, if the party in power violates the constitution, then there is no constitution, and they should be dealt with accordingly.
The POTUS already approved a stupid lawsuit to block Alaska from certifying their state's election if the incumbent Sullivan loses to the Democrat.
primarily citing that the Incumbent ( clearly identified as such on the ballot )might lose because another Dan Sullivan is also running for the same seat.
Ridiculous, frivolous lawsuit.
Looks like we're already there.
“…preemptively filed a lawsuit seeking to block certification of Alaska’s US Senate election if the Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan loses.”
Any attempt to make sense of this is impossible. Blatant contempt for the basic principles of democracy. Again…and just the first salvo.
If Trump's Sullivan wins it sounds like Peltola would have a good claim to block certification of the election on the grounds that a lot of Alaska voters wanted to vote for the other Sullivan but got confused. Following trumpist "logic", why not?
I read that on the ballot one of them is listed as the Republican candidate , and the incumbent, and the other is not. If MAGAs are too stupid to figure that out they shouldnt be voting.
If they were stupid enough to vote for Trump they shouldn't be voting.
most trump supporters don't even belong in this country ...
No doubt Russian Putin supporters love Trump just like their leader does. They love him for being such an utter gullible imbecile, an easy mark to control and manipulate.
and why are they still breathing? If you're that stupid, you must be forgetting to breath, too
there would be a lot less of them if breathing was voluntary ...
Are you saying that only Democrats should be allowed to vote?
no, I'm saying people that deny any parts of the constitution shouldn't be afforded it's full protections ...
I have no problems with that
I haven’t read the complaint - and I don’t care to, right this minute - but I do wonder what legal ground the federal executive thinks it has to sue a state for exercising its authority under the Constitution, so long as that state is not violating anyone’s civil rights. Not only does the federal executive have no legal authority in this context, I don’t see how they even have standing to sue. I would expect this to get dismissed pretty quickly.
They don't care about anything but acting out on misinformation. Period. Anything at all to win.
Typical Talarico commercials are running back to back on every sports channel in Texas.
Claim. Abott is responsible for no state income tax in Texas and Talarico and Hinjosa are for instituting an income tax.
Facts. The 1876 Texas Constitution prohibits income taxes. A 1993 provision provided a path to change it.
Talarico and Hinjosa both voted for the permanent ban multiple times.
Abbott obviously wasn't alive in 1876...
Claim Talarico is using campaign $$ to defund the police and is anti law enforcement and anti juvenile prisons
Facts The 2020 Talarico House campaign did donate to a well respected Austin community group in the wake of the deaths of George Floyd and a similar incident where Austin native J Aldridge was killed by Austin police in a similar incident of abuse but Talarico has been the major sponsor of law enforcement spending in Texas since 2022.
Talarico did sponsor a House Bill in 2023 to end the 85 juvenile prison system and replace it with a children's mental health system. 8 prisons were closed. Many are being converted to mental health clinics. The system began collapsing in 2022 due to poor pay and staffing revolts. Presently the remainder are condensing and not accepting new inmates to to staffing shortages.
The problems were present a long time before Talarico got elected to the Texas House.
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As I understand it the Republican Dan Sullivan's name on the ballot is followed by the words Republican and incumbent. The other Dan Sullivan has nothing after his name.
People who cant figure out from this which one is the Republican have no business voting.
most of maga have no business voting ...
I'm wondering . . . perhaps only the people I agree with should have the right to vote . . . ???
Yes, it is called democracy by some. S/
I guess it's a form of closeted prejudice when the biased POTUS assume that Alaskan voters don't know what the word Incumbent means on the ballot.
It's incredible that this even needs to be a concern. Before this administration, no one would even imagine such a thing was possible.
No, because Biden and Obama and the deep state did all that already and the Russia hoax and Democrats running the child sex ring out of the pizza parlors and Clinton server Benghazi Epstein beep boop beep! Does not compute! Does not compute!...
Let's face it, Trump voters believe a whole lot of shit that just isn't true which is why they sit there with a straight face and act like they're doing nothing that hasn't already been done before or was about to be done to them so they're just doing it first.
It's like Bill Mahar told JD Vance, "your side has two outcomes to every election, "either we win, or they cheated..""