A grand jury subpoena is a legal order requiring a person or entity to provide testimony or documents to a grand jury, which is a body of citizens that investigates potential federal crimes. The U.S. official emphasized that receiving a subpoena does not indicate that the recipient is a target of the investigation, but rather that they possess information relevant to the inquiry. The official added that the DOJ rarely subpoenas individuals it intends to charge with crimes. In response to inquiries, the Justice Department declined to comment on “leaks about alleged grand jury subpoenas” but stated that federal courts have determined that unlawful voting results in criminal exposure.
This legal action follows a series of procedural setbacks for the federal administration this week. On Wednesday, a federal judge denied the Trump administration’s request to segregate 20,000 mail-in ballots from alleged noncitizens in California. The judge’s ruling called into question the accuracy of the administration’s process for identifying these individuals. Previously, on Monday, an appeals court denied the administration’s request to block California from counting mail ballots from the same group of alleged noncitizens.
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder and County Clerk Dean Logan addressed the federal judge’s decision in a statement on Thursday. “At every step, the U.S. Department of Justice has taken a confrontational, adversarial approach,” Logan said, asserting that election officials are acting in accordance with state and federal law. He noted that “clear court rulings” by both the federal judge and an appeals court have confirmed the legality of the state’s actions.
The subpoenas are part of a broader federal effort that began last week, when DOJ officials sent letters to 57 of California’s 58 counties. These letters warned local election officials to cooperate with federal investigations into illegal voting or face investigations themselves. This week, the DOJ expanded its outreach, sending similar letters to officials in Washington state. In Washington, the DOJ asked the secretary of state to review a list of 400 registrants believed to be noncitizens and to sequester any ballots cast by those individuals.
The administration has pressured state officials for months regarding alleged voter fraud, having sued 30 states and the District of Columbia over their refusal to hand over voter registration data. Election experts have argued that the administration’s legal arguments are weak, particularly noting that the DOJ lacks legal authority to intervene in election certification. Experts also pointed out that while noncitizens can appear on voter rolls, it is a rare occurrence, and newly naturalized citizens are often mistakenly flagged as noncitizens due to the absence of a comprehensive federal list of U.S. citizens. The investigation remains ongoing, with no immediate next hearing or sentencing date applicable at this preliminary investigative stage.
