{"id":4772,"date":"2026-08-14T23:38:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T23:38:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4772"},"modified":"2026-08-14T23:38:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T23:38:26","slug":"trump-prosecutor-called-out-for-flopping-on-pledge-to-bring-fraud-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4772","title":{"rendered":"Trump prosecutor called out for flopping on pledge to bring fraud charges"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli promised President Donald Trump that California was \u201ca fraudster\u2019s paradise,\u201d and pledged would announce charges within weeks of his appointment. That was two months ago. <\/p>\n

Read more Tea partier tears Trump apart on government spending<\/a><\/p>\n

The San Francisco Chronicle reported on Friday that Essayli talked a big game but has failed to deliver. <\/p>\n

After the California primary election, Trump and Republicans sounded the alarm that there had to be fraud going on because it was taking too long to count the ballots in Los Angeles County. <\/p>\n

“They are trying to steal the governor of California primary, and the mayor of Los Angeles, primary, away from two great Republican candidates. Here we go with the very late and massive numbers of mail in ballots,” Trump ranted in all-caps on Truth Social. <\/p>\n

Essayli posted his own promise to Trump on X, saying, “Without commenting on any specific investigation, my office has multiple election fraud investigations underway in coordination with @FBILosAngeles . We will follow the evidence wherever it leads and prosecute any violations of federal election law to the fullest extent.”<\/p>\n

Only a few days later, he was speaking to Glenn Beck, promising to charge individual actors \u201cin the next \u2026 one to two months.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hate to put timelines on things,\u201d Essayli said. \u201cWe need some of these results to be certified so we can prove some of the allegations. But we will be charging some people.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also called on the public to send tips proving voter fraud was “widespread” in California. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are looking for any widespread conspiracy, if you will. Right now, I would say our investigations lean more into individual actors,\u201d he explained. \u201cTheoretically, I\u2019d have to charge thousands of people to prove that it changed the outcome of the election. \u2026 But we are looking. We are looking.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he spoke to Chris Cuomo on News Nation, Essayli said, \u201cthere is evidence of voter fraud \u2026 and when we\u2019re ready to bring those cases, you\u2019ll see the evidence. You\u2019ll see the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Perils of Trump\u2019s \u2018maximalist\u2019 executive power push revealed: legal scholar<\/a><\/p>\n

But, that was at the beginning of the summer. On June 14, Essayli promised KCRA news, \u201cSo some of them are more developed and they\u2019re ready to charge.\u201d<\/p>\n

After nothing for months, it appears the prosecutor is beginning to change the narrative, the report explained. The Chronicle<\/em> cited Essayli, saying that to get access to the voter rolls, the Justice Department must sue the state of California and it might take a while. <\/p>\n

A constitutional law professor explained how situations like this go beyond a debate about whether widespread voter fraud exists. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt this point, unfortunately, I don\u2019t know why anybody would believe the Department of Justice,\u201d said Justin Levitt, who teaches at the Loyola Law School. \u201cAnd that is not a thing that I relish saying as somebody who used to work there \u2026 It\u2019s also not something that I would have said in the administration of any individual other than President Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n

When The Chronicle called the office to ask what the hold-up was, they were told they’d have an update in two weeks. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt turns out that voter fraud does occasionally happen, but it is incredibly rare, like single-digits-of-balance rare,\u201d Levitt said. \u201cThe elections in California, the elections in Southern California, the elections in other parts of California are very clean. And election officials work incredibly hard to make sure that they\u2019re very clean. It does great disservice to the election officials when people run their mouths.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explained that Essayli is “a piece” of the larger whole of the Justice Department and currently the DOJ doesn’t enjoy much credibility in court. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure this U.S. attorney has established himself as a trusted local partner with the sort of vague allegations of widespread wrongdoing that he hasn\u2019t been able to back up. To be clear, he hasn\u2019t been able to back it up because I don\u2019t personally believe that these things he was saying are true,” Levitt said.<\/p>\n

Trump and Republican allies spent over a week spreading claims that fraud was afoot in California and calling for action. Levitt explained that these kinds of conspiracy theories from officials spread further mistrust and sow doubt. <\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Trump hates you\u2019: Conservative launches national campaign against \u2018idiot\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli promised President Donald Trump that California was \u201ca fraudster\u2019s paradise,\u201d and pledged would announce charges within weeks of his appointment. 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