DOJ Opens Election Probes in California After Trump's Fraud Allegations

The Trump administration is weaponizing the Department of Justice to investigate California's elections on the basis of unsubstantiated fraud claims. On June 5, 2026, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli—the top federal prosecutor in the Central District of California—stated that 'multiple election fraud investigations' were underway in coordination with the FBI, without providing any evidence of wrongdoing. This announcement came after President Trump posted on social media that Democrats in California were 'cheating' in the primary election, and it follows a pattern of federal election interference that includes earlier unlawful executive orders on mail voting and voter data collection.

By deploying federal prosecutors to probe state-run elections without specific evidence, the administration aims to delegitimize results, chill local election administration, and lay groundwork for future challenges. The investigations target Los Angeles County's vote-by-mail system, which has negligible fraud rates, and parallel a broader strategy to undermine public confidence in elections. The Brennan Center and Campaign Legal Center have documented how such actions divert resources from actual security threats and threaten the independence of election officials. The proper response is for Congress to enforce federal law limiting DOJ's role in elections, for California to continue defending its voting systems in court, and for voters to understand that these investigations are political, not evidence-driven.