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What lit a fire under billionaire SpaceX CEO Elon Musk this midterm cycle?
He’s given more than $445 million to Republican candidates and causes this year, making him the single biggest disclosed donor in the 2026 midterms — and the biggest single donor in a midterm cycle ever.
According to the most recent data, he’s given:
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All this makes the $288 million Musk gave to help elect President Donald Trump and Republicans in 2024 look miserly.
Why so much more? Because Musk realizes that keeping the Republican majority in Congress has become crucial to America’s secure and prosperous future.
On his social media platform, Musk shared a post last week agreeing that Democrats "must lose" the midterms. Critics claim he’s doing this because he fears investigations by a Democrat-controlled Congress. The truth is, he understands what it takes to build a strong America, and what threatens to tear it down.
He’s not alone. He’s been joined by other tech and financial billionaires who are spending tens of millions to protect America’s future from the Democrats.
WARREN GETS DEFENSIVE WHEN PRESSED ON DEMOCRATS ACCEPTING BILLIONAIRE DONATIONS
Tech entrepreneurs and venture capital giants Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz are major contributors to Trump’s MAGA, Inc.
Citadel’s Ken Griffin has spent at least $40 million to support Republican candidates.
Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman and his wife Christine have put up almost $32 million to Republican-affiliated political organizations and Super PACs this election cycle.
It’s not just tech billionaires who’ve opened their wallets to the GOP. Uline founders Elizabeth and Richard Uihlein have reportedly put up $124 million for their own Restoration of America PAC, and roofing company ABC Supply Chairman Diane Hendricks has given $25 million to MAGA, Inc.
'DARK MONEY’ GROUP ACCUSED OF 'SCHEME' TO TIP ELECTION IN FAVOR OF DEMOCRATS, MANIPULATE GOP VOTERS
In 2025, we saw the denizens of America’s high-tech sector — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple’s Tim Cook, and key Google executives — paying out millions for Trump’s inauguration festivities. Bezos, Cook, Zuckerberg and OpenAI’s Sam Altman even attended the inauguration in person — as did Elon Musk.
What did they understand about Trump and the GOP that the media didn’t?
This midterm cycle, according to The Washington Post, total Republican-leaning mega-donors have contributed $1.7 billion this cycle with Musk leading the way, compared to $832 million from Democratic-leaning givers.
Critics dismiss these donors as superrich oligarchs and robber barons trying to protect their ill-gotten money. Critics are wrong, tragically wrong. The truth is, the key stewards of our private sector economy are taking bold action to protect America’s future.
That’s because they see two possible paths to the future, and only two. One makes America strong, prosperous and secure, with tax cuts, investment, energy dominance and a strong, unequaled military.
One deals finally with the Iran that has destabilized the Middle East, and killed thousands around the world, including American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, for four decades.
One sees the need to cut what the GAO says could be as much as $500 billion of fraud from the federal budget — the cause that rallied Elon Musk to the DOGE agenda in the first place.
One sees American AI dominance as key to protecting our freedom.
One sees restoring America’s manufacturing and industrial base, as key to protecting prosperity.
All that stands on one side. On the other is a party that makes unsustainable policy promises like "Medicare for All."
A party that will give back the uncontrolled government spending spree that drove cumulative inflation up 21% during the Biden years.
A party cradled in corruption, waste and fraud, as exposed first by DOGE and now by Vice President JD Vance’s anti-fraud task force.
A party that has consistently presented weakness and prevarication to America’s foes, whether it’s Iran or China or the Muslim Brotherhood.
Finally, a party that threatens to mobilize the same radical forces that have turned the streets of France and European cities into battlegrounds.
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The choice is clear to Elon Musk, and our private sector’s best and brightest founders and entrepreneurs. Those 77 million Americans who voted for Donald Trump in 2024, now face the same choice. It is either to return to the voting booth in order to protect America’s safe and prosperous future or hand Congress over to those who want to bring back a bankrupt and discredited past.
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The choice seems easy. It will be America’s tragedy, and ours, if we don’t take it together.
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Ukraine's Defense Forces hit the Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery in Russia's Samara Oblast with FP-1 drones early on 30 October, Ukrainian drone maker Fire Point said, adding that one of the units hit hydrotreats diesel fuel. The strike came hours after WSJ reported that Ukraine had paused strikes on Russian refineries under pressure from US President Donald Trump until after the US midterm elections on 3 November.
Russia is pounding Ukraine's power grid and cities ahead of winter, with a mounting civilian toll, including 14 people killed on a Dnipro railway platform on 29 October. Ukraine's long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries, one of its most effective operations against Moscow, target the oil money that pays for that war. Trump has pressed Kyiv for weeks to stop them, blaming them for high global fuel prices, and Ukraine went quiet without saying so and without getting what it asked for in return, WSJ reported. The Samara strike is the first on Russian oil since then. Kyiv has not said whether the pause is over.
Residents of Novokuibyshevsk reported drones, explosions, and a fire before dawn. Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ posted the first photos on Telegram at 05:24 Kyiv time, and Russian Telegram channel Astra geolocated the fire to the refinery, citing its open-source analysis of residents' photos.
Novokuybyshevsk, Samara region: locals report an attack and a fire. pic.twitter.com/9UEgqmkAOU
— Exilenova+ (@Exilenova_plus) October 30, 2026
By morning, Exilenova+ counted at least 11 separate fires at the refinery. Samara Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said air defense and mobile fire groups were repelling an attack, Astra reported. The region had declared a drone alert and closed its airport.
Fire Point said its FP-1 drones scored numerous hits on the refinery grounds, and that one of the units hit hydrotreats diesel fuel. The footage published so far shows several smoke columns over the plant but does not show which units burned. The Rosneft-owned refinery has a design capacity of 8.8 million tons of oil a year and is one of the main producers of jet fuel, according to its website. Astra says it supplies jet fuel to Russia's military. The plant lies about 910 km from the front line. Ukraine's General Staff has not commented.
— Exilenova+ (@Exilenova_plus) October 30, 2026
Ukrainian drones have hit the plant before. Ukraine's military said its forces hit it in August and caused a fire.
It is the first fire at a Russian refinery since 15 October, when Ryazan's governor reported one at the city's refinery. It is also the first reported strike on Russia's oil industry since 20 October, when Ukrainian drones hit a Druzhba pipeline pumping station in Tambov Oblast. WSJ called that strike the last before the pause.
Ukraine's military paused its strikes on Russian refineries after weeks of pressure from Trump shook Kyiv's confidence in US support, people with knowledge of the operations told WSJ. The unofficial pause began early last week and is expected to last until after the midterms, and possibly deeper into November. Units carrying out long-range strikes were told in mid-October that the refinery campaign was effectively on hold once missions already under way were completed, two military officials said. Hours after the report, the Novokuibyshevsk strike called that account into question.
Ukraine's government has not announced a pause. Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv on 27 October that “our guys tried to be a little more careful during these days. But they do not have an order” not to hit refineries, according to WSJ. He said drone units were hitting other kinds of targets in Russia.
Trump's envoy Jared Kushner repeated the demand to stop the strikes at a meeting with Zelenskyy in Oslo on 20 October, two US officials told WSJ. One of them called the conversation “very tough.” Kushner, who joined remotely, said he and envoy Steve Witkoff were spending a lot of time, energy, and jet fuel on mediating with Moscow, and that a 30-day pause on refineries would be a way for Ukraine to show gratitude, the official said.
Zelenskyy had asked for something in return, WSJ reported: a mutual energy ceasefire with Russia, Patriot missiles for Ukraine's grid, or permission to use Starlink inside Russia so drones could destroy Russian missile launchers. None of those ideas got far. Some of Kyiv's European backers also nudged Zelenskyy to pause until after the midterms, a senior European official said.
The pause showed in Russia's oil industry. Russian refinery utilization at the end of October was 25% higher than at the start of the month as drone attacks subsided, Reuters reported, according to The Moscow Times.
Russia's Defense Ministry claimed it downed 1,043 Ukrainian drones overnight over 19 regions, including Samara Oblast, the Moscow region, and Tatarstan. The night before, it claimed 1,214.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin claimed that 862 drones flew toward the Moscow region between 20:30 on 29 October and 07:30 on 30 October, that most were downed on the far approaches, and that 170 were downed on approach to the capital. Russia's aviation agency restricted flights at all four Moscow airports, Astra reported. A day earlier, more than 460 flights were delayed or canceled at Moscow and St. Petersburg airports, Astra counted.
In Starodub, in Russia's Bryansk Oblast, about 35 km from the Ukrainian border, a building of the Konservsushprod plant, which makes canned food for the Russian army, appeared to be on fire in readers' photos and videos, Astra reported, saying the plant was presumably attacked and that its open-source analyst had not verified the footage. The Atesh partisan movement reported a blast in Aleksandrovka in Rostov Oblast, and air defense fire and an explosion in Orel.
By Brett WILKINS
“This reveals the DNA of Bolsonarism,” said one critic. “Bolsonarism is made of cowardice.”
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Just one day after vowing he would remain in Brazil to disprove allegations of money laundering, corruption, and other crimes, far-right Brazilian Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro followed in his disgraced father’s footsteps by fleeing to the United States after losing a presidential election.
Bolsonaro, his wife Fernanda Bolsonaro, and their two daughters, ages 14 and 12, left Brazil for an unknown location in the United States, according to initial reporting by Isadora Teixeira at the Brasília-based news site Metrópoles, which was subsequently confirmed by other Brazilian and international media.
The Argentinian site Infobae reported that Bolsonaro and his family may have crossed into Argentina—which is run by his ally, far-right President Javier Milei—and then traveled to the US in a private jet. It is not known where the family went in the US.
Bolsonaro’s brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro, lives in Texas while facing criminal punishment in Brazil after trying to use the Trump administration to pressure Brazilian authorities over the prosecution of his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, who last year was convicted of conspiring to violently remain in power following leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s 2022 election win.
Flávio Bolsonaro, a 45-year-old senator representing Rio de Janeiro, was defeated by Lula in Sunday’s second-round election, but refused to accept the results and groundlessly demanded an annulment. The following day, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the seizure of Bolsonaro’s passport. He was supposed to have turned in the document Tuesday, but he didn’t.
US President Donald Trump also cast doubt on the election’s outcome, saying the contest appeared to be “rigged.”
Jair Bolsonaro also fled to the United States while refusing to acknowledge his own 2022 defeat, which occurred during the administration of former President Joe Biden.
Like Trump, Bolsonaro incited a violent insurrection in his nation’s capital following his loss.
Unlike Trump, Bolsonaro was held accountable for his crimes, and, in addition to a 27-year prison sentence—now being served under house arrest—is banned from running for any political office for the rest of the decade.
Now, with Trump back in the White House and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in charge at Foggy Bottom, Bolsonaro and his relatives are set to be issued US visas, a senior State Department official told The Associated Press.
The younger Bolsonaro’s flight—which may have been aided by his obtaining an Italian passport in 2023—contradicts his pledge on Monday, when he said, “I have never thought about leaving the country” and “I will hand over my passports and defend myself against this travesty.”
He was referring to de Morães’ order to surrender his passport amid accusations of corruption, money laundering, tax evasion, and foreign currency violations.
Bolsonaro is also the subject of an inquiry pertaining to the millions of dollars he raised from a disgraced banker implicated in a massive corrupt plot to finance a biopic of Jair Bolsonaro.
The senator has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing.
Bolsonaro’s flight stands in stark contrast to Lula, who spent 580 days in prison after being convicted in corruption cases stemming from the sprawling Operation Car Wash investigation.
In 2021, Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court annulled Lula’s convictions on procedural grounds, ruling that the court in Curitiba lacked jurisdiction over the cases and separately finding that former judge Sergio Moro had acted with bias in one of them. The decisions restored Lula’s political rights and eligibility to run for office, paving the way for his 2022 presidential victory over Bolsonaro.
Lula responded to the senator’s departure by saying, “Unfortunately, the Bolsonaro family is like that.”
“Brazil is his second homeland,” the president continued, accusing Bolsonaro of “bootlicking in the United States.”
Secretary-General of the Brazilian Presidency Guilherme Castro Boulos ripped Bolsonaro, saying: “Leaders face things head-on! Rats run away!”
“It is a shameful thing, which should make Brazilian society as a whole reflect, especially those who supported and voted for Flávio Bolsonaro,” Boulos asserted. “He slapped his supporters in the face and left them on the side of the road.”
“Almost 60 million Brazilians trusted him as political leadership to run the country, and 24 hours later, he flees,” he continued. “And it’s no use coming up with this talk of persecution, of dictatorship. He ran away because he must.”
“This reveals the DNA of Bolsonarism,” Boulos added. “Bolsonarism is made of cowardice.”
Erika Hilton, a member of the Chamber of Deputies—the lower house of Brazil’s Legislature—representing São Paulo for the Socialism and Liberty Party, weighed in on social media, calling Bolsonaro “a traitor to the homeland.”
In the United States, Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) said on X that “losing an election is not grounds for asylum.”
“Yet the Trump administration is giving Flávio Bolsonaro safe haven in the United States,” he continued. “The Trump administration owes Congress answers on its role helping Bolsonaro flee Brazil in contravention of Brazilian law.”
Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic Policy and Research (CEPR), told Common Dreams:
Trump is now the most corrupt president in US history, raking in billions from his presidency. It’s no surprise when the most powerful corrupt authoritarian government in the hemisphere uses international law designed to protect the persecuted to shield another corrupt authoritarian government from criminal prosecution. Perhaps this is what is meant by the Trump-led ‘Shield of the Americas.’
Francesca Emanuele, senior international policy associate at CEPR, noted that “the United States has long served as a destination for numerous right-wing Latin American political figures who fled their home countries while facing corruption allegations, criminal investigations, or accusations of grave human rights violations, including crimes against humanity.”
“The list is extensive,” she added, “ranging from former presidents such as Panama’s Ricardo Martinelli and Bolivia’s Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada to dictators such as Nicaragua’s Anastasio Somoza.”
Emanuele also contrasted the actions of the Bolsonaros and Lula, arguing that the latter’s decision to remain in Brazil “reflected a commitment to the Brazilian people and a determination to defend his rights through the country’s own institutions, even when those institutions failed to uphold them.”
“Rather than leaving Brazil,” she told Common Dreams, “Lula stayed, fought to clear his name, and continued his political struggle alongside the people he sought to represent.”
Original article: www.commondreams.org
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that he would deploy election lawyers and observers across the state to protect voters’ rights, escalating a confrontation with President Donald Trump’s administration over federal involvement in polling places ahead of the elections.
RELATED: More Than 26.6 Million Have Voted Early in U.S. Midterms
The legal teams will be sent to key districts with closely contested races, Newsom said, warning against unauthorized interference in the electoral process.
“A warning to Donald Trump: I’m deploying election lawyers to key battleground districts in California to protect every vote. And I just made it a FELONY to illegally seize ballots,” the Democratic governor wrote on social media platform X.
Newsom also approved legislation making the unlawful seizure of election ballots a felony, establishing criminal penalties for unauthorized interference with ballots.
A warning to Donald Trump:
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) October 29, 2026
I’m deploying election lawyers to key battleground districts in California to protect every vote.
And I just made it a FELONY to illegally seize ballots.
The measures follow the Trump administration’s announcement that it would deploy federal agents to polling places to prevent potential electoral irregularities. Trump has repeatedly accused California of failing to address alleged voter fraud.
Speaking Wednesday night on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Newsom criticized the administration’s approach, accusing the White House of trying to suppress votes and create grounds to challenge the election results.
He argued that the administration was seeking to create conditions that could later be used to question the outcome and allege fraud.
The dispute has also reached the courts. On Wednesday, a federal judge rejected a Justice Department request to set aside more than 20,000 mail-in ballots cast in California while authorities verified voters’ citizenship.
The judge warned that withholding the ballots would cause widespread disruption and interfere with an electoral process already underway.
California officials had also questioned the reliability of the voter list submitted by the federal government and rejected its request to verify voters’ citizenship before ballots were counted.
The Justice Department confirmed it would appeal the ruling, setting the stage for further legal disputes between federal and state authorities before the election process concludes.
Nearly 100 people marched through Ecuador’s capital, Quito, on Thursday to protest President Daniel Noboa’s government, launching a new wave of demonstrations ahead of local elections scheduled for Nov. 29.
RELATED: Ecuador Readies Snap Regional Elections Amid Opposition Exclusion Accusations
Organized by the country’s main trade unions and left-wing political parties, the peaceful march moved through the historic center before reaching the attorney general’s office. Protesters gathered outside the building carrying banners demanding the release of Luisa González, a former presidential candidate and one of the leading opposition figures.
González, who belongs to the political movement associated with former President Rafael Correa, was placed in pretrial detention in a case involving alleged money laundering. Prosecutors accuse her of involvement in the irregular financing of her first presidential campaign in 2023.
Chanting “Out, Noboa, out,” demonstrators also called for improvements to public education and healthcare. Some participants urged voters to cast null ballots in the upcoming local elections.
Natasha Rojas, a politician and activist, described the mobilization as a defense of democracy, civil liberties and the rights of Ecuadorians. She argued that the government was losing public support and warned that its policies would fuel further protests.
Nelson Erazo, president of the Popular Front, accused state institutions, including the attorney general’s office and the comptroller’s office, of being used to target social activists and political leaders.
He said the demonstration brought together groups seeking political change and demanding that Ecuadorians be able to express themselves freely, with guarantees of access to education, healthcare and employment.
Opposition organizations have announced further demonstrations on Nov. 7 and 15, followed by a march alongside feminist groups on Nov. 25 to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Another mobilization is planned for Dec. 10, in coordination with international organizations, to defend human rights.
© Ammar Awad/Reuters
Ryan Dinnage – who accompanied Reform UK leader on walkabouts before local elections – was later jailed, raising questions about vetting failure
One of Nigel Farage’s security team who accompanied him on the local election campaign trail this year was facing a rape charge and was later jailed for eight years, raising questions about a failure of vetting.
Ryan Dinnage spent time protecting Farage in April and May, but in June was convicted of having raped a woman while she slept in a caravan at the Royal Windsor horse show.
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© Photograph: Sean Smith/The Guardian
© Photograph: Sean Smith/The Guardian
© Photograph: Sean Smith/The Guardian
© Doug Mills/The New York Times
Thursday on “ABC News Live,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) spoke with ABC News correspondent Jay O’Brien regarding the possible impeachment of President Donald Trump. Jeffries said, “The American people are clearly poised to give House and Senate Democrats
The post Jeffries on Impeachment: We ‘Haven’t Ruled Anything Out’ appeared first on Breitbart.
The move had been expected since the start of the month, when the council extended the deadline for candidate registration to October 31 without setting a new voting date.
The first round of the presidential and legislative elections, together with the constitutional referendum, now falls on July 18, 2027. A second round -including presidential and legislative runoffs and local elections- is scheduled for October 4 of that same year. The campaign, originally due to begin on October 5, will open on April 15, 2027, roughly three months before polling day.
RELATED: UN Security Council Reaffirms Mandate in Haiti Despite Attacks
Under the updated schedule, candidate registration will remain open through February 9, 2027, while voter registration is extended to May 20. The council’s online platform shows that nearly 890,000 voters are registered on the electoral roll, far short of the 7.7 million people of voting age.
Despite repeated calendar revisions, candidates have continued to register for the elections. According to the Provisional Electoral Council ’s latest updates, over 7,300 candidates have registered for different elected positions. The provisional list includes 19 candidates for President, 369 for the Senate, 1,293 for the Chamber of Deputies and 5,623 for local elections.
Haïti a de nouvelles dates pour les élections présidentielle, législatives et municipales à venir :
— Frantz Duval (@Frantzduval) October 29, 2026
18 juillet 2027 pour le premier tour – 4 octobre 2027 pour le deuxième tour, selon une communiqué du Conseil électoral provisoire. pic.twitter.com/A4raK78ifp
Text reads: “Haiti has new dates for the upcoming presidential, legislative and municipal elections: July 18, 2027 for the first round – October 4, 2027 for the second round, according to a communiqué of the Provisional Electoral Council.”
The Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) framed the decision as an effort to keep the process moving. “The updated calendar aims to facilitate the continuation of electoral operations under conditions that allow the stakeholders concerned to fulfill their obligations in accordance with the provisions of the legal framework,” the council explained in a statement accompanying the new plan.
The body also pledged to move forward “with dialogue, professionalism and rigor,” targeting elections that are inclusive, credible and transparent. It promised to respect “the right of each citizen to participate in the democratic life of the country.”
That language contrasts sharply with conditions on the ground. Haiti has not held an election since 2016, when Jovenel Moïse won the presidency. He took office in February 2017 and was assassinated on July 7, 2021, at his residence in Port-au-Prince.
Since that killing, no elected official has occupied any post in the country’s state structure. Successive transitional governments have cycled through without managing to organize a vote. Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, the current leader, has governed on an interim basis since November 10, 2024.
The elections were first set for August 30 of this year. The political and security crisis, driven by armed gang violence and the failure to restore institutional stability, forced a postponement to December 13. That date has now been abandoned for July 18, 2027.
Armed gangs control most of Port-au-Prince. The main force arrayed against them is the Gang Suppression Force (GSF), created in September 2025 under a UN Security Council mandate and renewed for six additional months when it reached its first anniversary.
The latest delay unfolds as hundreds of Salvadoran soldiers search the Haitian capital for four kidnapped colleagues. Those troops belonged to the GSF and vanished on October 18, when armed gangs ambushed them on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince.
The #GSF confirms that it has received, through a third-party humanitarian organization, remains suspected of being those of the four personnel from the Salvadoran contingent currently missing.
— Gang Suppression Force – Haiti (@GSForceHaiti) October 25, 2026
At this stage, the GSF is not in a position to confirm that the remains are those of… pic.twitter.com/JvfLg1DfCG
PM Fils-Aimé presides over a country under siege. He holds no elected mandate himself, and the security conditions that have justified every postponement show no sign of easing.
For Haitians, the wait has now stretched past a decade without a chance to cast a ballot. Each interim administration has promised elections and delivered another delay. The violence cited as the obstacle has, in turn, deepened with every year of institutional drift.
Whether July 2027 becomes a genuine election day depends on factors no schedule can secure: safe streets, working electoral machinery and a minimum of political consensus. As things stand, the only firm date in Haiti is a next postponement.
Thursday, during an appearance on MS NOW’s “The Briefing,” Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) said President Donald Trump is “deeply dangerous” because he is “delusional.” Ossoff said, “The West Wing staff right now is mostly doing childcare. I mean, they’re having
The post Ossoff: It’s ‘Deeply Dangerous to Have a President So Delusional’ appeared first on Breitbart.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) told late-night host Jimmy Kimmel that he predicts the upcoming midterms will result in a "blue tsunami" that ends the Trump presidency "as we know it."
The post Gavin Newsom Tells Jimmy Kimmel ‘Blue Tsunami’ Will End Trump Presidency ‘As We Know It’ appeared first on Breitbart.
Thursday on MS NOW’s “The Weeknight,” Democratic nominee for the Texas gubernatorial election, Gina Hinojosa said Republicans use of culture wars are a distraction. Co-host Luke Russert said, “I think it’s really interesting in this race in Texas, you’re neck
The post Hinojosa: Republicans Using Culture Wars as a Distraction appeared first on Breitbart.
Federal prosecutors in California have issued grand jury subpoenas to state and local election officials Thursday, according to a person with knowledge of the effort and a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s office, which administers elections in the county. The person was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive investigative steps.
MS NOW has obtained three subpoenas issued last week to employees of the Los Angeles County Registrar’s office. Each subpoena demands the recipient testify on Nov. 4, the morning after Election Day, and produce documents, including any records or communications reflecting the county’s efforts to screen for noncitizen voters or prevent the counting of any noncitizens’ votes.
The move expands the Department of Justice’s controversial probe into suspected noncitizens who are registered to vote in California. Earlier this month, the Department of Justice sued California to demand officials there set aside mail ballots cast by any of the roughly 20,000 registered voters it identified as “likely noncitizens,” according to a database compiled by the Department of Homeland Security.
A district court denied the Justice Department’s request for a temporary restraining order that would have forced California to segregate any mail ballots cast by alleged noncitizens and refrain from counting or tabulating them unless and until California could verify their citizenship. The DOJ has already appealed that order, and Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, has said that he expects the case will ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta described the DOJ’s grand jury subpoenas as an attack.
“The Trump Administration’s escalating attacks on our hardworking elections officials in California are unacceptable,” Bonta said in a statement shared on X. “As Judge Carter said in his opinion yesterday,‘these threats must stop.’”
California and L.A. County officials have criticized the DOJ for claiming, without evidence, that thousands of noncitizens are registered to vote, especially after the county said it reviewed a sample of registered voters on DHS’s list and found information indicating that many were born in the U.S.
The subpoenas, which were first reported by Bloomberg, are signed by Assistant U.S. Attorney General Michael Wheat, a veteran federal prosecutor who first joined the Justice Department in the 1980s. Wheat has brought criminal charges in recent weeks against alleged noncitizens for election-related crimes.
Wheat has also been tied to the investigation of Rep. Ilhan Omar, who, according to a search warrant issued earlier this month, is being scrutinized for potential immigration fraud.
The post DOJ issues new grand jury subpoenas to California election officials appeared first on MS NOW.
© Kerry Tasker/Reuters
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