President Donald Trump's FBI has reportedly summoned election officials from all 50 states to a mysterious late-February conference call, sparking alarm among state leaders already bracing for federal interference in midterm elections.
An email obtained by Crooked Media's "What A Day" reveals FBI "Election Executive" Kellie Hardiman invited state officials to discuss "preparations for the cycle" alongside the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and U.S. Election Assistance Commission on Feb. 25. The FBI refused to comment on the call.
Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar called the unprecedented outreach "the strangest thing in the world" and suspected intimidation tactics.
“I was just like, ‘what is this?’ It’s the strangest thing in the world that the FBI is reaching out to us and trying to coordinate election security,” Aguilar told the outlet in a phone call on Thursday. “It’s never happened in the past. The casualness which they did… it was just beyond crazy.”
He added: “They’re just sowing this confusion and chaos to try to intimidate us into compliance.”
Trump has demanded the federal government control elections in 15 states, while the FBI recently raided a Georgia election hub with spy chief Tulsi Gabbard in tow. MAGA ally Steve Bannon has also publicly called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to "surround the polls" during November's midterms.
A former DOJ official confirmed the coordinated approach is highly unusual. Aguilar vowed Nevada would "push back" against what he called unconstitutional overreach designed to disrupt the midterm elections critical to 2028.