California Attorney General Accuses Justice Department of Weaponizing the Law Over Noncitizen Voting Push

California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Saturday sharply criticized the Trump administration's campaign against alleged noncitizen voting, describing it as "politicizing and weaponizing the law." He said the Department of Justice was acting at the direction of Donald Trump.

"It is once again the United States Department of Justice politicizing and weaponizing the law to attack its enemies, and it is completely improper," Bonta told MS Now.

The criticism follows a demand made less than two weeks before the midterm elections. Federal prosecutors asked California election officials to verify, within 48 hours, a list of roughly 20,000 ballots tied to suspected noncitizens. Voting by noncitizens is extremely rare, but the justice department has stepped up prosecutions of people accused of voting illegally without US citizenship as the midterms approach.

California election personnel have warned that the directive could strip eligible citizens of their right to vote. Officials in Los Angeles said this week that a "high percentage" of the people named on the list were born in the United States.

Governor Gavin Newsom also hit out on social media. He said the department was so desperate to invent "widespread voter fraud" that it sent counties lists of people who never voted, as well as voters from the wrong county, calling it an "Absolute clown show!" Congressman Pete Aguilar, who represents south-west San Bernardino county, wrote that "Voter intimidation has no place in our democracy."

The justice department framed its request as a way to secure the vote. "We are asking each county election official to commit to working with us by providing the necessary information for DHS to quickly verify citizenship status," it said. "With their help, we can ensure the most secure election in California history." The effort comes amid a wider Republican push nationally to crack down on alleged voter fraud, particularly among undocumented immigrants.

Bonta has questioned the evidence behind the list. At a recent press conference he said officials were given only names, with no explanation of why those people were supposedly ineligible. "If they have such information, we would be happy to review it, but they've provided none," he said.

The department also recently charged 28 foreign nationals with fraudulently registering to vote. Bill Essayli, first assistant US attorney, said the arrests proved that "California is mailing ballots to noncitizens, and they are refusing to comply with federal law, which makes it a crime for noncitizens to vote." The defendants are lawful permanent residents, who hold legal status in the US but are not citizens eligible to vote.

Some state officials took no action on letters sent Friday, citing the rapidly approaching election, which set off a legal fight with the justice department. An appeals court is scheduled to hear the matter on Tuesday.