After alleging that noncitizens are registered to vote in L.A. County, the U.S. Department of Justice recently sent subpoenas to local elections officials, calling them to testify before a grand jury. The move may signal that criminal charges are in the works — but the county has ways to fight back.
A federal judge Friday blocked the Trump administration from threatening election workers with criminal prosecution for counting ballots cast by registered voters the administration claims are ineligible. Why it matters: The emergency order, issued four days before the midterms , prohibits federal pressure to sideline ballots based solely on allegations of ineligibility and forces the Justice Department to walk back threats it already sent to election officials. The big picture: The ruling adds to a series of courtroom losses for the administration, as federal officials intensify election-related investigations and challenges across the country. Judges are warning that federal threats and investigations are driving citizens out of elections and putting lawful votes at risk. Driving the news: U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson found that the Justice and Homeland Security departments likely violated the Voting Rights Act's prohibition on voter intimidation and exceeded their constitutional authority over elections. Her temporary restraining order prohibits demands that states remove registered voters, withhold their ballots or stop counting votes solely because the administration claims the voters are ineligible. It also bars threats of criminal prosecution against election workers who refuse those demands or process ballots in accordance with election laws. The judge ordered prosecutors to disclose pending search warrant applications, grand jury subpoenas and other demands related to its lists of allegedly ineligible voters. What she's saying: Thompson found the administration's actions forced election workers to choose between complying with "Defendants' unlawful demands" or risk criminal prosecution for performing their jobs. "In the lead-up to the election," she wrote, "high-ranking DOJ and DHS officials have engaged in a campaign to intimidate, threaten, and coerce state and local officials and employees who are engaged in administering the ongoing midterm 2026 e
Federal grand jury subpoenas have demanded that county election officials turn over internal communications and testify, raising concerns that investigations could intimidate workers.
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer who hit and injured a man with a vehicle in Houston, Texas, was indicted by a grand jury in Harris County on Friday. The 33-year-old officer, Mario Alberto Morales, was indicted on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly driving his vehicle into Miguel Parra…
The Department of Justice issued criminal grand jury subpoenas to at least four California election workers over alleged noncitizen voting records.
Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola denied Thursday that she knew anything about an effort to put another candidate on the Alaska ballot with the same name as the Republican incumbent as the Justice Department escalated a criminal investigation with new grand jury subpoenas.
The Democrats who planted a second Dan Sullivan on Alaska’s Senate ballot pulled a dirty trick, but the Justice Department’s response lawsuit is unlikely to stop a single ballot from being counted. The law that actually applies to this mess runs through Juneau, the Federal Election Commission, a federal grand jury, and the United States ...
Attorneys for the former FBI director contend the third case isn’t valid on its face because it wasn’t presented to a federal grand jury within the statute of limitations.
The Justice Department has issued grand jury subpoenas to California officials, escalating a dispute over allegations by the federal government that the state may have as many as 20,000 non-citizens registered to vote.
Federal prosecutors issued criminal grand jury subpoenas to three L.A. County election officials, demanding they appear in court the day after the election.
The Justice Department has sent subpoenas to Democrat Mary Peltola’s Senate campaign and the campaign of the second Dan Sullivan running in Alaska following a report that leftist operatives recruited the challenger to confuse voters and draw votes from the Republican incumbent, Sen. Dan S. Sullivan. A U.S. official told NBC News that investigators had ...
Trump’s legal vendettas hit new roadblocks as the midterms approach.
The Justice Department failed to secure an indictment against Cassidy Hutchinson , a former White House aide who testified about President Trump's actions on Jan. 6, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday. Why it matters: The grand jury's refusal to indict Hutchinson is another blow to the DOJ in its ongoing effort to prosecute President Trump's perceived political enemies . The latest: A Justice Department lawyer told a magistrate judge Tuesday that a grand jury could not agree on an indictment, according to the Washington Post. The lawyer, whom the Post identified as Neville S. Hedley, the division's acting senior litigation counsel, did not say who the indictment referenced, but multiple sources told the Post and other outlets that it relates to Hutchinson. Catch up quick: Hutchinson's 2022 testimony before Congress revealed several bombshells about the Trump administration's actions leading up to and on Jan. 6, 2021. She testified that she had been told Trump lunged at a Secret Service agent who refused to drive him to the Capitol, that Trump knew some of his supporters were armed, and that former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows had been warned of potential violence on Capitol Hill. She also described Trump's reluctance to call on his supporters to back down as violence unfolded at the Capitol. Zoom out: Republicans have long disputed Hutchinson's testimony, and Secret Service agents she identified as familiar with the events of that day have also said they do not recall some of the incidents she described. Earlier this year, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) sent a criminal referral of Hutchinson to the Justice Department for investigation. House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) co-signed it. Criminal referrals are recommendations to the Justice Department and do not necessarily indicate criminal wrongdoing or result in charges. The intrigue: In a break from precedent, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, led by Trump loyalist Harmeet Dhi
Years of delays for the SkyLink people mover at LAX have led to finger-pointing, litigation and a grand jury probe into how a $1.9-billion project has become a $3.3-billion boondoggle.
