• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Travel
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Republicans
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Men
  • Trans Rights
  • Royals
  • Monkeypox
  • Corporate giants say anti-LGBT law would hurt Uganda’s economy
  • Early 2024 salvos foreshadow unpredictable Trump vs DeSantis fight
  • Megyn Kelly Attacks Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas After She’s Honored By ESPN For Women’s History Month

‘Disturbing’: Trump DOJ Claims Armed Feds Are Allowed to Inspect State Vote-Counting Locations

Jake Johnson, Common Dreams November 5, 2020 Leave a Comment

Barr.Bill
Attorney general bill barr

As ongoing vote tabulation in several key battleground states continues to slowly narrow President Donald Trump’s path to reelection, the New York Times reported late Wednesday that the Justice Department has told federal prosecutors that U.S. law permits armed federal agents to enter ballot-counting locations to investigate alleged “fraud,” heightening fears of possible intimidation efforts by the Trump administration.

News of the Justice Department’s early Wednesday email came after Trump spent much of that day lying about vote-counting procedures and peddling baseless claims of suspicious activity as he watched his slim leads in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania vanish.

The Times noted that the Justice Department’s email, authored by Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue, “created the specter of the federal government intimidating local election officials or otherwise intervening in vote tallying amid calls by President Trump to end the tabulating in states where he was trailing in the presidential race.”

While U.S. law bars the stationing of armed officials “at any place where a general or special election is held,” Donoghue claimed in his email that the statute “does not prevent armed federal law enforcement persons from responding to, investigat[ing], or prevent[ing] federal crimes at closed polling places or at other locations where votes are being counted.”

State officials and civil rights advocates were quick to denounce the Justice Department’s interpretation of the law as both false and dangerous while also suggesting the post-Election Day email may have been aimed at mollifying the president, who falsely declared victory early Wednesday morning with millions of ballots left to count.

State officials have authority over anyone trying to enter locations where ballots are being counted. Anything else is a radical reinterpretation of the law. States can handle elections, and we will ensure the people decide the outcome.https://t.co/etz70G3foQ

— Maura Healey (@MassAGO) November 5, 2020

Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, decried the “scare tactics from DOJ,” noting on Twitter that “federal armed agents can’t interfere in vote count, enter polling places, or take ballots.”

“Let’s be clear: this is posturing,” said Gupta, who served as acting head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division under President Barack Obama. “You can imagine Trump calling [Attorney General William] Barr at midnight freaking out after Fox called Arizona saying do something for me, and Barr willingly obliging. Time for a new DOJ.”

As the Times pointed out, Barr “spent the months leading up to Election Day echoing the president’s dark warnings, claiming without evidence that the wave of mail-in ballots would lead to an unprecedented amount of voter fraud. He cited one example of 1,700 falsified ballots that the Washington Post found to be false. A department spokeswoman blamed an inaccurate memo from an aide.”

Not at all clear why DOJ decided to send this email in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. But without more context, this is disturbing.
Justice Dept.: Armed Agents Are Allowed to Oversee Ballot-Counting Venues – The New York Times https://t.co/juRCyhoONT

— Carissa Byrne Hessick (@CBHessick) November 5, 2020

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the top law enforcement official of a key state that remains up for grabs, told MSNBC late Wednesday that he is aware of the Justice Department’s email and prepared to deal with its potential consequences.

“It is yet another one of the issues we planned for,” said Shapiro. “Nothing is going to stop the counting of these legal ballots in Pennsylvania.”

If armed federal officials show up at Pennsylvania vote-counting locations, Shapiro said, “what happens is what has been happening since the polls closed: a strict adherence to state law.”

Story licensed under (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Topics: Politics, towleroad More Posts About: 2020 Election, 2020 Election, Bill Barr, Donald Trump

Related Posts
  • Early 2024 salvos foreshadow unpredictable Trump vs DeSantis fight
  • Tucker Carlson Backtracks After Claiming He ‘Passionately’ Hates Donald Trump: ‘I Love’ Him ‘As A Person’
  • Trump’s yawn-inducing Waco ‘pity party’ buried by former GOP adviser
  • Early 2024 salvos foreshadow unpredictable Trump vs DeSantis fight

    Early 2024 salvos foreshadow unpredictable Trump vs DeSantis fight

    Published by Reuters By Tim Reid, Alexandra Ulmer and James Oliphant (Reuters) – The battle for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination has for months been seen as a two-man race: a fight between Donald Trump and …Read More »
  • Megyn Kelly Attacks Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas After She’s Honored By ESPN For Women’s History Month

    Megyn Kelly Attacks Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas After She’s Honored By ESPN For Women’s History Month

    Published by Radar Online @liakthomas/Instagram, mega Political pundit Megyn Kelly blasted collegiate transgender swimmer Lia Thomas after ESPN honored the athlete as part of its Women’s History Month celebration, RadarOnline.com has learned. In yet another attempt …Read More »
  • Nashville school shooter had ’emotional disorder’ and small arsenal, police say

    Nashville school shooter had ’emotional disorder’ and small arsenal, police say

    Published by Reuters By Sandra Stojanovic NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) – The 28-year-old former student who killed three children and three adults at a Christian grade school in Nashville on Monday was under a doctor’s care for …Read More »
  • Emily Ratajkowski ‘Begging’ Pal Olivia Wilde For ‘Forgiveness’ After Messy Harry Styles Make Out, Spills Source: ‘This Is A Betrayal’

    Emily Ratajkowski ‘Begging’ Pal Olivia Wilde For ‘Forgiveness’ After Messy Harry Styles Make Out, Spills Source: ‘This Is A Betrayal’

    Published by OK Magazine mega Emily Ratajkowski found herself in hot water with Olivia Wilde after locking lips with the director’s ex-boyfriend Harry Styles. According to an insider, the supermodel is “begging” Wilde, 39, for “forgiveness” …Read More »
Previous Post: « Trump’s Spiritual Adviser Paula White Dispatches Angels to Secure President’s Reelection: WATCH
Next Post: Armed Arizona Trump Supporters Swarm Vote Counting Center in Phoenix: WATCH »

Primary Sidebar

Adjacent News

  • Portraits of Dogs: London’s Wallace Collection explores canine character and charm

    Portraits of Dogs: London’s Wallace Collection explores canine character and charm

  • LGBTQ+ trailblazer and comedian Paul O’Grady dies at 67

    LGBTQ+ trailblazer and comedian Paul O’Grady dies at 67

  • Florida bill would instantly ban books based on a single objection from one resident

    Florida bill would instantly ban books based on a single objection from one resident

Good Trash: Going to Read It Somewhere, Y'know

  • Kanye West thanks Jonah Hill for making him ‘like Jewish people again’

    Kanye West thanks Jonah Hill for making him ‘like Jewish people again’

  • Harry Styles, Emily Ratajkowski And Olivia Wilde Spark ‘Throuple’ Chatter In Hollywood After Wild Make-Out Session Caught On Video

    Harry Styles, Emily Ratajkowski And Olivia Wilde Spark ‘Throuple’ Chatter In Hollywood After Wild Make-Out Session Caught On Video

  • Jennifer Aniston Recalls Cher Poking Fun At Her For Eating All The Cold Cuts In Her Home During Actress’ High School Days

    Jennifer Aniston Recalls Cher Poking Fun At Her For Eating All The Cold Cuts In Her Home During Actress’ High School Days

RSS Partner Links

  • An error has occurred, which probably means the feed is down. Try again later.

Most Recent

  • Corporate giants say anti-LGBT law would hurt Uganda’s economy

    Corporate giants say anti-LGBT law would hurt Uganda’s economy

  • Early 2024 salvos foreshadow unpredictable Trump vs DeSantis fight

    Early 2024 salvos foreshadow unpredictable Trump vs DeSantis fight

  • Megyn Kelly Attacks Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas After She’s Honored By ESPN For Women’s History Month

    Megyn Kelly Attacks Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas After She’s Honored By ESPN For Women’s History Month

  • Nashville school shooter had ’emotional disorder’ and small arsenal, police say

    Nashville school shooter had ’emotional disorder’ and small arsenal, police say

  • Emily Ratajkowski ‘Begging’ Pal Olivia Wilde For ‘Forgiveness’ After Messy Harry Styles Make Out, Spills Source: ‘This Is A Betrayal’

    Emily Ratajkowski ‘Begging’ Pal Olivia Wilde For ‘Forgiveness’ After Messy Harry Styles Make Out, Spills Source: ‘This Is A Betrayal’

  • Madonna Ridicules Tennessee Lawmakers’ ‘Unacceptable & Inhumane Oppression Of LGBTQ+ Community’: ‘See You In Nashville’

    Madonna Ridicules Tennessee Lawmakers’ ‘Unacceptable & Inhumane Oppression Of LGBTQ+ Community’: ‘See You In Nashville’

  • Adam Lambert got a job at Starbucks to buy makeup

    Adam Lambert got a job at Starbucks to buy makeup

  • Sir Elton John walks six miles a week in his swimming pool

    Sir Elton John walks six miles a week in his swimming pool

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd

Footer

Copyright © 2023 · Log in

×