Blanche says DOJ could block election certification in ‘doomsday scenario’

Attorney General Todd Blanche left the door open on whether the Justice Department (DOJ) would intervene in states’ midterm election verification processes, telling reporters Thursday there are hypothetical “scenarios” in which it could block the certification of votes.

“Yes, of course there’s scenarios that we can all come up with hypothetically, you know, some doomsday scenario for example, right?” he said. “So I don’t think it’s proper to make any kind of conclusory statements about what’s going to happen in the future, because I have no idea what’s happening in the future.”

Blanche added the DOJ has no intention “to improperly interfere with elections or the state confirmation process or certification process.”

“There’s no circumstances that we would ever do that,” he continued. “Of course I’m not going to say that. But am I planning my days around the election to be somewhere to not certify? Of course not, no, not at all.”

Blanche said earlier this month the DOJ plans to send 1,000 election monitors to polling places in every state on Election Day. At the time, he told Fox News anchor Shannon Bream the department’s presence would serve to ensure federal law is properly enforced, adding the government has been monitoring elections since the 1960s.

During the Fox interview, Blanche went on to accuse Democrats of “fearmongering” by claiming the DOJ is trying to intimidate voters.

On Tuesday, Democratic leaders and election groups filed a lawsuit against President Trump and the DOJ, accusing the administration of “ threats and intimidation ” ahead of Election Day — pointing to its efforts to push states to identify and remove suspected non-U.S. citizens from voter rolls and threats of criminal prosecution against election officials who refuse to comply.

DOJ spokesperson Kiersten Pels told The Washington Post Wednesday that “ensuring that only eligible citizens vote and that every lawful ballot is counted a requirement of federal law.”

The lawsuit specifically cites the DOJ’s demand to California officials to set aside ballots from more than 20,000 registered voters the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identified as noncitizens. It also alleged the administration’s threat to imprison state and local election officials violated the Voting Rights Act.

The DOJ sued the Golden State last week after giving its officials 48 hours to compare the 20,000-name DHS list to California’s the voter rolls. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) slammed the lawsuit, saying his state’s elections “are NOT Donald Trump’s to control.”

On Monday, the DOJ announced 28 alleged non-U.S. citizens in California were charged in connection with illegally voting. Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said all of the 28 “defendants charged today appears on the list of more than 20,000 likely noncitizen registrants we provided to California election officials last week.”

Trump, who has long held immigration as a central issue over both of his presidencies, has frequently made unsubstantiated claims surrounding non-citizens voting in U.S. elections and alleged the practice plays a role in voter fraud in Democratic states.