California leader calls attack on alleged noncitizen voting ‘weaponizing the law’

Key Points:

• California Attorney General Rob Bonta criticized the Trump administration's efforts to investigate alleged noncitizen voting as politicizing and weaponizing the law, stating the Department of Justice acted under Trump's direction.
• Federal prosecutors demanded California election officials verify within 48 hours a list of about 20,000 ballots suspected to belong to noncitizens, raising concerns of potential disenfranchisement among citizens due to inaccuracies in the list.
• California officials, including Governor Gavin Newsom and Congressman Pete Aguilar, condemned the DOJ's actions as voter intimidation and highlighted errors such as including individuals who never voted or are from the wrong county.
• The DOJ has charged 28 foreign nationals, lawful permanent residents not authorized to vote, with fraudulent voter registration, emphasizing the need to protect American citizens' voting rights.
• Some California officials delayed responding to the DOJ's demands due to the imminent election, leading to a legal dispute with an appeals court scheduled to hear the case soon.