'So sad!' Trump triggered as DOJ slaps-down voter purge in key swing state
The Justice Department's efforts to stop a Republican lawmaker from purging his swing state's voter roll triggered an angry tirade from former President Donald Trump in the early hours of Monday morning.
Trump claimed the Justice Department was plotting to install "illegal voters" in Virginia ahead of Election Day amid a pre-down Truth Social spree that also saw him argue he owns the words "The Apprentice" and call Vice President Kamala Harris "slow."
"Obviously, this was done so that they can CHEAT on the Election," Trump declared. "So sad! What has happened to our once Great Country?"
According to court documents, what happened is the Justice Department on Friday sued Virginia election officials accused of striking names from voter rolls in violation of federal law at the behest of Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Youngkin in August signed an executive order demanding daily removals of ineligible voters in violation of the National Voter Registration Act 90-day “quiet period” requirement, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristen Clarke.
The Department of Motor Vehicles data Youngkin mandated be used to check citizenship status can be inaccurate and outdated, prosecutors contend.
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“Congress adopted the National Voter Registration Act’s quiet period restriction to prevent error-prone, eleventh hour efforts that all too often disenfranchise qualified voters,” Clarke said in a statement.
“The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy and the Justice Department will continue to ensure that the rights of qualified voters are protected.”
Youngkin claimed in a statement to NPR that the Justice Department was attacking the legitimacy of the presidential election.
“We will defend these commonsense steps, that we are legally required to take, with every resource available to us," Youngkin said. "Virginia’s election will be secure and fair, and I will not stand idly by as this politically motivated action tries to interfere in our elections."
There is no evidence to support conservatives' claims that people without U.S. citizenship are voting in federal races at rates to threaten election integrity, according to CNN's analysis of voting data and nonpartisan experts.
The news outlet described the issue as "extremely rare."
This did not stop Trump from claiming the Justice Department had, once again, been weaponized against him.
"One of the Greatest Examples of DOJ Weaponization is the fact that they are suing Virginia to put ALL of the Illegal Voters, which were fully exposed and removed by the important work of Governor Glenn Youngkin, back on the Voter Rolls," Trump claimed.
Project 538 polling data from Sunday showed Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of Trump in Virginia by nearly 8 points.