{"id":24881,"date":"2026-06-12T13:54:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T17:54:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.merkley.senate.gov\/?p=24881"},"modified":"2026-06-12T13:54:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T17:54:02","slug":"merkley-wyden-colleagues-sound-alarm-on-trump-administration-use-of-election-crimes-prosecutions-to-interfere-in-midterm-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.merkley.senate.gov\/es\/merkley-wyden-colleagues-sound-alarm-on-trump-administration-use-of-election-crimes-prosecutions-to-interfere-in-midterm-elections\/","title":{"rendered":"Merkley, Wyden, Colleagues Sound Alarm on Trump Administration Use of Election Crimes Prosecutions to Interfere in Midterm Elections"},"content":{"rendered":"

Washington, D.C. \u2013 Oregon\u2019s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined their Senate colleagues in demanding answers over the Trump Administration\u2019s decision to\u00a0remove<\/a>\u00a0the most recent version of the\u00a0Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses\u00a0<\/em>manual from the U.S. Department of Justice\u2019s (DOJ) website without explanation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In their letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the Senators highlighted the alarming actions taken by the Administration regarding election interference, emphasizing that the removal of the manual from the DOJ website prompts further questions over President Trump\u2019s election interference efforts. Of particular concern, the manual stated that DOJ prosecutors should not seize voting materials until after an election had been certified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe manual published by the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division has been easily publicly accessible on the Department\u2019s Election Crimes Branch website in both Democratic and Republican Administrations,\u201d<\/strong> escribieron los senadores. \u201cDuring President Trump\u2019s first term, the manual was accompanied by a memorandum describing the Department\u2019s longstanding election non-interference policy. While the manual underscores the importance of deterrence as the objective served by federal prosecutions of individuals who commit federal crimes in connection with an election, it also makes clear that \u2018this deterrence is achieved by public awareness of the Department\u2019s prosecutive interest in, and prosecution of, election fraud\u2014not through interference with the process itself<\/em>.\u2019\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Senators questioned Acting Attorney General Blanche on the Administration\u2019s motivations for removing the manual from the DOJ website and any efforts to restore it. They further requested clarification from the Administration to understand any outside influences or partisan political motives. The oversight letter asked whether revisions will be included and if Trump\u2019s allies will contribute to those revisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The removal of this DOJ guidance comes as the Administration has threatened election takeover efforts which will result in voter suppression across the country, especially in this year\u2019s midterm elections. The Senators further warned that the removal of the manual paves the way for politically motivated legal actions by the Trump Administration in advance of the midterm elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhile the Department\u2019s ongoing voter roll lawsuits are failing across the country, we are concerned that those efforts, which were calculated to compel states into inaccurately purging voters, may be the pretext for more meritless pre- and post-election challenges, including interfering with election certification,\u201d<\/strong> continuaron los senadores. \u201cSimilarly, unsubstantiated claims by DOJ leadership of \u2018tens of thousands noncitizens on voter rolls\u2019 are reckless, as time and again, those claims have been refuted by findings that many individuals are falsely identified as noncitizens, and the extremely rare appearance of noncitizen registrants on the voter rolls or the even more extremely rare cases of noncitizen voters are often due to bureaucratic errors or misunderstandings about eligibility, as opposed to intentional fraud.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The letter was led by Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action and Federal Rights Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to Merkley and Wyden, the letter was signed by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

La carta completa est\u00e1 disponible.\u00a0aqu\u00ed<\/a>\u00a0y por debajo:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear Acting Attorney General Blanche:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We write regarding the Department of Justice\u2019s (DOJ or Department) decision to remove the Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses manual, now in its eighth edition, from the Department\u2019s website without explanation.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the context of other alarming actions taken by the Trump Administration\u2019s Department of Justice, including pursuing politically-motivated investigations at the direction of the White House; implementing drastic changes to the longstanding mission of the Civil Rights Division\u2019s Voting Section; suing 30 states for unrestricted access to their voter rolls; and making unprecedented demands for ballots, election equipment, and names of election workers, the removal of this manual continues to raise the alarm about DOJ\u2019s involvement in the upcoming midterm elections for partisan political purposes. We urge you to confirm the Department\u2019s adherence to the principles outlined in the manual and be transparent about what, if any, changes the Department is making to this longstanding policy to protect elections from political interference.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The manual published by the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division has been easily publicly accessible on the Department\u2019s Election Crimes Branch website in both Democratic and Republican Administrations. During President Trump\u2019s first term, the manual was accompanied by a memorandum describing the Department\u2019s longstanding election non-interference policy. While the manual underscores the importance of deterrence as the objective served by federal prosecutions of individuals who commit federal crimes in connection with an election, it also makes clear that \u201cthis deterrence is achieved by public awareness of the Department\u2019s prosecutive interest in, and prosecution of, election fraud\u2014not through interference with the process itself<\/strong>.\u201d The Amundson Memo similarly provides clear directives reaffirming guidance provided under former Attorney General William Barr that prosecutors and investigators \u201cmay never select the timing of public statements (attributed or not), investigative steps, criminal charges, or any other action in any matter or case for the purpose of affecting any election, or for the purpose of giving an advantage or disadvantage to any candidate or political party.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The manual is also still cited in the Justice Manual, a critical reference guide for U.S. Attorneys and other DOJ prosecutors, which states:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where a criminal or national security investigation during an election cycle is at issue, the Department must also be careful to adhere to longstanding policies regarding the timing of charges or taking overt investigative steps. See, e.g., U.S. Dept. of Justice, Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses 8-9, 84\u201385 (8th ed. 2017).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent reports have indicated that the number of attorneys in DOJ\u2019s Public Integrity Section has been reduced from 36 to two. In addition, in early April, former Republican congressman Dan Bishop was appointed as the Department\u2019s chief election fraud prosecutor with nationwide authority to pursue the President\u2019s debunked claims of widespread voting fraud. Around that same time, you hired 2020 election conspiracist Joe DiGenova as Counsel to pursue politically motivated prosecutions, who has in turn apparently hired Kurt Olsen, a former White House election czar previously sanctioned for misleading courts in election cases.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following these developments, we need to better understand the extent to which the Department\u2019s investigations are being influenced by partisan political motives. Given Department leadership\u2019s public enthusiasm for working with Republicans in Congress on issues related to elections, including agreeing to demands that DOJ bring legal action to force states to redraw congressional lines, even after citizens in their states have already voted, we expect complete answers to the following straightforward questions:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n