U.S. Attorney David Fried said a preliminary investigation determined that nine “military ballots have been abandoned” and that seven of them were “put up for presidential candidate Donald Trump.” In Luzern County, the incident happened in Swing County in northeastern Pennsylvania, home to Wilkes-Barre. Trump overthrew the county in 2016 after years of narrow Democratic victories.
The statement was unusual because it highlighted the fact that ballots were marked for Trump – which immediately raised suspicions that the Justice Department was trying to present material that Trump could promote for political gain. Indeed, Trump and other White House allies used the mail to attack the vote, even before the information was released.
Election officials go to extraordinary lengths to protect ballot secrecy. It is not clear how the investigators found out who had the votes and why they made the information public.
In addition, the Department of Justice generally does not comment on ongoing investigations, although there are rules to allow it when there are threats to the public interest, such as the integrity of elections.
“It seems worth investigating, but I think it’s really strange that they say who voted for whom,” CNN election law analyst Rick Hessen said in response to the announcement. “I think the president’s claim that it will become fodder is that people are messing with the polls in Pennsylvania.”
While any missing ballots can cause problems, based on the investigators ’statements, the issue seems to be a little less. More than 6.1 million Pennsylvanians voted in the 2016 election.
Trump uses the news to criticize the mail-in poll
“They got six ballots in the office fee yesterday, out of a trash can. They were Trump’s ballots. Eight ballots, in the office fee in some states yesterday. We are investigating. “
Shortly before the Justice Department’s announcement, White House Press Secretary Kyle McKinney gave a preview to reporters.
“I can confirm for you that the Trump ballot, the ballot for the presidency, was found in Pennsylvania, and I believe you should get more information about this soon.”
Early news from the Justice Department said “all nine ballots” were cast for Trump. About two hours later, the department deleted the press release from its website and issued a revised announcement, stating that seven of the president’s nine votes were for Trump.
The updated press release said, “The two canceled ballots were re-enacted in their proper envelopes by the loser’s election staff before being recovered by the FBI, and the contents of those two ballots are unknown.” It also said that not all ballots could be attributed to a particular voter.
Democrat Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro praised the announcement. But unlike Trump, Shapiro said he should give voters more confidence in the mail-in voting process.
“We’ll have to wait and see exactly what the United States Attorney Free and the FBI and local district attorneys want to do, but I think we need to give people confidence in knowing that we’re all doing our job in law enforcement. Make sure it’s legal. , Eligible votes are counted, “Shapiro said Tuesday afternoon in an interview with CNN’s Pamela Brown.
Experts question DOJ objectives
Trump and Attorney General William Barre have spent months attacking the mail-in ballot, and the Pennsylvania announcement is sure to boost their efforts.
They claim that the mail-in poll promotes debunked conspiracy theories and derogatory ambiguity to claim that mass voting leads to fraud. Election officials from both parties have denied the allegations in a statement issued Friday stating “Similar, baseless allegations concerning security have been made more than once.
The unconventional Justice Department announcement is sure to raise suspicions that Burr is using the Justice Department as a political weapon to help Trump’s election.
In recent months, Bare has helped Trump’s efforts to label Democratic-run cities as “anarchist”, and has targeted Democratic-run states over the death of Kovid-19 in nursing homes. Bair has also intervened in a criminal case to help President Trump allies.
“Speaking as a former DOJ attorney, at the beginning of the investigation, to make a public statement with so little information, is unforgivable and law enforcement malpractice,” Baker said.
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