Justice Department Takes Election Fights to Grand Juries in California and Alaska Days Before the Midterms

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 29 (TodayViralUSA) — The Justice Department has turned to federal grand juries in two of the most contested election fights of the midterm season, issuing subpoenas to local election officials in California and to Senate campaigns in Alaska less than a week before Tuesday’s vote.

The moves mark a shift from civil lawsuits to criminal investigations as the Trump administration presses claims of noncitizen voting in California and of a spoiler-candidate scheme in Alaska’s Senate race.

California officials ordered to appear the day after the election

Copies of three subpoenas obtained by The Associated Press were sent Oct. 21 and Oct. 24 to employees of the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. They order the workers to appear at a federal courthouse in Orange County on Nov. 4, the morning after Election Day, Politico reported.

The subpoenas seek documents and communications tied to letters federal officials sent to state election officials in July and October alleging that noncitizens are on California’s voter rolls, including correspondence involving Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter. They also ask for records on how the county screens for unlawful voting by noncitizens. A person familiar with the matter told the AP that subpoenas were being issued by all four U.S. attorneys in California.

A Justice Department spokesperson said the department does not comment on leaks about grand jury subpoenas but called criminal investigative action the next logical step, adding that “all agree that noncitizen voting is properly addressed through criminal law.”

Judge names a special master

The subpoenas surfaced hours after U.S. District Judge David O. Carter in Los Angeles appointed Daniel B. Garrie as a special master to examine the administration’s claim that more than 20,000 noncitizens are registered to vote in California. Garrie is to assess how reliable the government’s list is and whether the state could set aside affected ballots before its Dec. 3 certification deadline. Carter scheduled an evidentiary hearing for Nov. 13.

The appointment came less than a day after Carter rejected the Justice Department’s demand that California separate mail ballots from those voters, saying it would violate long-standing constitutional principles that leave election administration to the states. In that ruling, he also criticized the government for threatening to charge local officials who did not comply, writing that “these threats must stop.”

Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan said the department has taken “a confrontational, adversarial approach” at every step. “Threats and intimidation have no place in elections,” he said.

Alaska Senate race under scrutiny

In Alaska, the Justice Department issued a new round of grand jury subpoenas and document-preservation requests in its criminal inquiry into allegations that Democrats recruited a second candidate named Dan Sullivan to siphon votes from Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, who faces Democrat Mary Peltola. The subpoenas reached both Peltola’s campaign and the campaign of Dan J. Sullivan, according to CBS News and the AP. The department also amended a civil lawsuit alleging a conspiracy to undermine the election.

Separately, Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered the state Department of Public Safety to investigate the alleged recruitment effort. No charges have been filed, and Peltola’s campaign has denied involvement.

Speaking at a rally in Rock Hill, South Carolina, on Thursday, President Donald Trump repeated his call for Peltola to be prosecuted, saying she “should be removed from the ballot and prosecuted, and so should the fake Dan Sullivan.”

The midterm elections are on Tuesday, Nov. 3.