Friday, May 16

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THIS WEEK

• DOJ voting section has just three lawyers left, watchdog estimates
  
  
• New York AG Letitia James becomes latest target of Trump’s revenge tour
  
  
• What could go wrong? Texas may allow guns at the polls

DOJ OVERHAUL

The DOJ’s voting rights team is under attack 

It comes as no surprise to Democracy Docket readers that President Donald Trump says he’s improving election integrity while he is in fact doing the exact opposite – quietly gutting the federal government’s legal team that actually protects voting. 

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) voting section has been known for defending voters against state and local efforts to violate their civil rights and stop them from casting a ballot. But that’s no longer the case, at least for now. And Democracy Docket has been chronicling the decline.

What used to be a busy team of around 30 attorneys is now down to just three, according to an estimate given to us by a watchdog group that’s supporting the remaining staff.

As the DOJ shifts its focus from voting rights to voter fraud, some members of the voting section have left as part of the deferred resignation program. Others have been reassigned. 

First, Trump’s DOJ dropped the fight against Virginia’s voter purge program. Then it withdrew from a lawsuit challenging Georgia’s massive voter suppression law, Senate Bill 202. 

The DOJ is still involved in at least 29 voting rights or redistricting cases across 18 states, according to Democracy Docket’s litigation tracker. But will there be anyone left at the department to keep up the work? This week we learned that the voting section is now so low on staff that lawyers from the housing and civil-enforcement sections are being asked to pitch in. Read more about the DOJ under Trump here.

RETRIBUTION

Trump takes aim at New York Attorney General Letitia James 

Trump campaigned on getting revenge against his enemies, and he appears to be keeping that promise. 

We’ve watched plenty of prominent players in the legal field cave to Trump, but New York Attorney General Letitia James has been unwilling to bend the knee despite the risk of angering him. Last year, her office won a civil fraud case against Trump and his allies, forcing Trump and other defendants to pay more than $450 million and barring his sons Donald Trump, Jr. and Eric Trump from serving as an officer or director of any New York company for two years.

Now, Trump appears to be taking steps to punish her with a criminal probe first reported by the Albany Times Union last week. 

The DOJ is investigating a criminal referral from Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, who is accusing James of securing a better mortgage rate by fraudulently stating that a Virginia home she was purchasing with her niece in 2023 would be her primary residence. Meanwhile, James’ attorney has provided evidence that James repeatedly said she wanted the home to be her niece’s residence while she would be labeled only as a “non-occupying co-borrower.”

Just before Pulte sent the criminal referral, Trump – who wants to accept an airplane gifted by the royal family of Qatar that’s valued at around $400 million – called James “a totally corrupt politician” and a “wacky crook” who should resign immediately. Read more about Trump’s weaponized DOJ here.

TEXAS 

Republicans want guns at the polls because of threats they created

The Texas House passed legislation allowing Texas voters to start arming themselves at the polls, but there’s still time for the Senate to stop those bills from becoming law.

HB 1794 would allow anyone with a handgun to carry a concealed weapon at the polls. Another bill – HB 1128, co-authored by State Rep. Carrie Isaac (R) – would allow concealed weapons to be carried only by election judges (who aren’t actually judges, but ordinary civilians who help run Texas’ voting sites). 

“This legislation is a necessary response to the escalating threats of intimidation faced by election officials both nationally and within Texas,” said Isaac, who has supported debunked claims about widespread election fraud that have led to those exact threats.

The legislation is part of a new trend that’s flipping the Texas status quo on its head.

For years, the Senate has been the more extreme chamber of the Texas legislature, while the House has managed to block some of the most far-right agenda items. But Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) launched aggressive primary campaigns against moderate House Republican incumbents last year, successfully swapping them out with more partisan representatives in several seats. 

Now, the question is whether state senators will decide to be a check on the House’s effort to upend decades of gun restrictions at the polls. With the legislature set to gavel out in just over two weeks, we will have an answer soon. Read more about what’s next in Texas.

OPINION

The Lawsuit Exposing MAGA’s Voter Suppression Machine

Allison Riggs’ legal battle to take her seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court has finally ended and Riggs was sworn in earlier this week. But the MAGA effort to overturn elections by disenfranchising thousands of voters is far from over, Fair Fight communications director Max Flugrath wrote in a new piece.

Fair Fight is currently battling True the Vote, a far-right anti-voting group, in a Georgia appellate court, over True the Vote’s bid to challenge 364,000 voters in 2021. “The Georgia case is an opportunity to further expose the MAGA anti-voter machine, and affirm that the Voting Rights Act still has teeth. And it’s a chance for the courts to call out mass voter challenges for what they are — reckless voter suppression,” Flugrath said. Read more here.

NEW VIDEO

This is a “Dangerous Moment” for All of Our Civil Rights | Sen. Chris Van Hollen

Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen joins Marc Elias to discuss his trip to El Salvador to see Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Trump administration's attacks on the rule of law and why all of our civil rights are at risk. Watch it on YouTube here.

What We’re Doing

The Texas Legislature meets for only 140 days every other year, providing the state with more than enough new unconstitutional laws to fight in court until the next session begins. With the “season” set to end June 2, Democracy Docket reporter Jen Rice, a former Houston Chronicle reporter, has been binge-watching the House and Senate livestreams to catch the late night drama, petty slights and extreme-right bills that are moving toward becoming law, such as a resolution to create an anti-abortion monument at the Capitol honoring unborn children. Texans who want to get involved: It’s not too late to sign up to testify at hearings. Non-Texans can get involved, too. Check the National Conference of State Legislatures calendar to find out when your state government is in session.