The facts
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to stop threatening state and local election officials with criminal charges over their handling of ballots. Judge Trina Thompson ruled that the Justice Department must not demand officials set aside or stop processing ballots the administration suspects may have been cast by non-citizens. The order followed letters sent to California officials seeking the segregation of ballots from 20,000 registered voters whom the administration said it believed were likely non-citizens. Armed Department of Homeland Security officials later delivered letters threatening criminal charges if California officials did not sequester the ballots. Election officials stated they could not comply because state and federal law required them to follow established election procedures. Thompson wrote that, although the administration said its actions aimed to prevent unlawful voting, they were likely to interfere with election administration and disenfranchise lawful voters. Her order also addressed a similar Justice Department demand to Washington state. President Donald Trump criticized the ruling in a social media post and said he would continue fighting for election integrity. Research indicates non-citizen voting is rare.
Our take
Well, well. It appears the federal judiciary has finally stepped in to tell the Trump administration’s collection of lawless, cosplay fascists to get their greasy paws off the ballot boxes. A judge had to issue a formal order instructing the Justice Department - the fucking Justice Department - to stop threatening to jail state and local election officials for the high crime of following election law. What a time to be alive.
This whole pathetic charade started when the administration, in its infinite wisdom and with all the subtlety of a drunk guy pissing on a police car, sent letters demanding California officials set aside ballots from 20,000 voters they ‘suspected’ might be non-citizens. Then, because letters weren’t sufficiently terrifying, they sent armed Department of Homeland Security personnel to deliver follow-up threats of criminal charges. Because nothing says ‘land of the free’ like federal stormtroopers showing up to intimidate civil servants into breaking the law for their orange god-king.
Judge Trina Thompson saw this bullshit for what it was: a naked attempt to disrupt an election and disenfranchise lawful voters under the paper-thin guise of ‘election integrity.’ She ruled their actions were likely to do exactly that. No shit. The administration’s entire ‘integrity’ platform is built on a foundation of lies, fear-mongering, and the fact that non-citizen voting is about as common as a Trump apology.
Of course, the petulant man-child-in-chief took to his social media shitter to whine about the ruling, promising to ‘continue fighting.’ Yeah, he’s fighting alright - fighting democracy itself with every weaponized federal agency he can corrupt. The only thing he’s trying to secure is his own power, and he’s willing to turn the DOJ into his personal intimidation squad to do it. What a fucking coward.
Let’s be clear: this order is a judicial bitch-slap to a regime that thinks judges are just another type of employee to be bullied. It’s a win for every public servant who just wants to count votes without some Justice Department dickhead breathing down their neck with threats of prison. Now if only the court could order a muzzle for the bloated, vote-suppressing cunt who started it all.
