The Justice Department issued grand jury subpoenas to Los Angeles County election workers demanding testimony the day after Election Day, expanding a criminal probe into alleged noncitizen voting despite a federal judge's order to stop threatening local officials.
Federal prosecutors have issued grand jury subpoenas to election officials in California, widening a criminal investigation into alleged noncitizen voting just days before the midterm elections and drawing a direct rebuke from a federal judge who had ordered the administration to stop threatening local election staff.
What the subpoenas demand
The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's office confirmed to NPR on Thursday that it received grand jury subpoenas directed at employees last week. At least three subpoenas obtained by MS NOW require recipients to testify on Nov. 4 — the morning after Election Day — and to produce documents, including records and communications reflecting the county's efforts to screen for noncitizen voters or prevent the counting of any noncitizen ballots.
Reporting indicates subpoenas also reached officials in other California counties, including Orange County, where federal officials delivered a subpoena to the Registrar of Voters' office on Thursday. The Justice Department has not said whether the staff who received the subpoenas are targets of the investigation. A DOJ spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
A judge's warning, then more subpoenas
The escalation follows a ruling by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter in Los Angeles, who on Wednesday rejected the Justice Department's request for a temporary restraining order that would have forced state officials to set aside and stop processing mail ballots cast by roughly 20,000 registered voters the administration has identified as "likely noncitizens," based on a Department of Homeland Security database.
Carter found no legal basis for the demand and said the court was not convinced the list was reliable. He also raised concerns that the effort would disenfranchise eligible voters and create election chaos. At a hearing on Tuesday he warned Justice Department officials that "it would be wise that any threats to state and county elected employees cease immediately," and repeated the instruction in his written order: "these threats must stop."
Earlier letters from the DOJ to local election officials warned that refusing to cooperate could bring "significant federal scrutiny and legal exposure," and that anyone who knowingly tabulated ballots cast by people identified by federal agencies as noncitizens risked becoming "aiders and abettors to a federal crime."
California's response
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan said Carter's admonishment "was well placed and appreciated," adding that "at every step, the U.S. Department of Justice has taken a confrontational, adversarial approach. Election officials are acting in accordance with state and federal law."
Logan said his office would "take whatever steps necessary to ensure the safety of our employees and to remain focused on serving the voters of Los Angeles County so they can exercise their voting franchise." California Attorney General Rob Bonta has described the subpoenas as an attack.
Where the case goes next
The Justice Department has appealed Carter's ruling to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, has said he expects the dispute to ultimately reach the Supreme Court.
The subpoenas are part of a broader pre-election push in which the administration has opened inquiries touching multiple states, including Alaska, where a Senate race has been roiled by scrutiny of a spoiler candidate. The Justice Department has said FBI and ICE agents will not serve as poll monitors on Election Day.
Sources: NPR, MS NOW, The New York Times, OCRegister.