An attorney and democracy advocate sounded what he called a "five-alarm fire" ignited by Attorney General Pam Bondi, warning that "nothing is as worrisome" as her new scheme.
Marc Elias, founder of Democracy Docket, joined Bryan Tyler Cohen on Cohen's YouTube channel on Thursday to discuss what the Justice Department is doing under Bondi.
"The Department of Justice is systematically going state by state and trying to access and collect individual voter data on every voter in the state. This is not a fire — this is a five-alarm fire," he warned.
Elias pleaded with viewers to appreciate the gravity of the scheme.
"I know there are a lot of other things going on in the world of democracy right now, but nothing is as worrisome to me, as someone who has spent their career fighting against voter suppression and election subversion, than the fact that Pam Bondi’s Department of Justice has been weaponized. They are going to these individual states, and they want the voter records of you, of your neighbor, of your family, your friends, your community, your entire state," he railed.
The feds are seeking comprehensive records from all 50 states, he said, slamming legacy media outlets for "sleeping" on the scandal.
"We need to all be aware of this — not just to understand what’s going on, but to discuss what we do to fight back," he said.
Cohen noted that even if the practice is unlawful, federal prosecutors are the ones tasked with enforcing the law.
"They’re using federal prosecutors to go to state election officials — secretaries of state in some places, election boards in others — to try to get this information. They’re doing it by letter. They’re doing it by request. We haven’t yet seen them use grand jury subpoenas. Right now, they’re doing it through these more informal methods. But remember — we’re still a year and a half from the election."
Elias then shared the question that the Trump administration must be asked by Sunday talk show hosts.
"Why are they collecting this information? What are they using it for?" he asked. "Because there’s no good reason for it. The Department of Justice — certainly the criminal division — doesn’t have a legitimate role in the way we run elections. In fact, they’re supposed to stay out."
Elias later warned there's a "continuum of bad things" the administration could do with the data. The administration could use it to score political points and perpetuate election lies, demonize naturalized citizens and criticize Democratic cities and states.
"That’s the better scenario," he emphasized.
"The worse — and more concerning — scenario is that they’ll use this data when they don’t like the results of elections," Elias warned.
The administration could say the federal government must intervene in a big state like California or Illinois because Govs. Gavin Newsom or J.B. Pritzker allowed ballots to be counted that the Trump administration doesn't believe should have counted.
"We’ve seen this playbook before. And everyone needs to wake up. This is the playbook Donald Trump tried to run in 2020. It’s what he tried to do when Jeffrey Clark, in the DOJ, tried to get acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen to send a bogus letter to Fulton County and the state of Georgia claiming irregularities.
Watch the clip below or at this link.