Federal Prosecutor Slams LA Official Over Voter Citizenship Claims

Governor Gavin Newsom and Bill Essayli, a federal prosecutor appointed by President Trump in California, traded sharp blows on social media this week over one question: is the state doing enough to stop noncitizens from casting ballots? Essayli, who serves as first assistant U.S. attorney for California's Central District, pulled out a court document filed Tuesday. Inside it, Los Angeles County election official Monica Flores wrote that the registrar's office "is not equipped or authorized to verify voter citizenship because it does not independently house citizenship-related information beyond the voter attestation." She made this declaration while testifying in a Justice Department lawsuit aimed at forcing California to check the citizenship status of more than 20,000 people. The federal government believes these individuals are likely noncitizens who received mail ballots ahead of this year's midterm elections. Essayli labeled Flores' remark a "massive concession," arguing it proves election officials simply take voters' word for their own citizenship standing.

"American citizens' votes are being diluted in California," Essayli posted on X. Newsom's press office responded quickly from its account on the same platform. The statement reminded everyone that California follows a 1993 federal law requiring anyone registering to vote through the DMV to swear under penalty of perjury that they are eligible, including that they are U.S. citizens. That same requirement applies to federal mail-in voter registration forms. Newsom's office added a sting at Essayli for his tweets: "May want to brush up on your election law before tweeting," it said. The message went on to suggest a nickname change might be in order, asking if perhaps the title Second Assistant would fit better from now on?

Essayli fired back by citing two federal statutes that make it unlawful for noncitizens to vote in federal elections. This public argument highlights the core dispute in the lawsuit against California: should the state take extra steps to verify voter citizenship when the federal government flags potential problems with the rolls? According to the Justice Department's complaint, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services cross-checked California voter registration records with federal immigration data. DOJ lawyers described this investigative process as "preliminary." It produced a list of more than 20,000 registered voters that federal investigators identified as likely noncitizens. Mail ballots began arriving in the mail for those voters on Oct. 1.

In its initial complaint filed Oct. 15, the Justice Department asked a federal court to order California to set aside mail ballots linked to people on that list until their citizenship could be verified. Flores argued that doing so is now virtually impossible. Once a ballot's signature is checked, it moves out of its identifying envelope and gets processed alongside hundreds of thousands of others. As of Tuesday, the county had already processed 331,000 ballots, according to Flores' court statement. She also noted that the registrar's office "is not an investigative agency." She added she was unaware of any state or federal law granting it such authority.

Despite that limitation, staff from the registrar's office reviewed a sample of 200 records from the Justice Department list that matched LA County addresses. The results were stark. "The October list is unreliable: 112 of the 200 records correspond to registrations that are canceled or inactive," Flores wrote in her statement.

Out of the voters whose birthplace was actually recorded, 38.9 percent claim they were born in the United States. That figure offers strong proof of citizenship for those people. Meanwhile, 71.2 percent of the records show no voting history at all.

Essayli told Fox News that these numbers mean nothing. The agency admitted it has no way to check anyone's citizenship or where they were born. So relying on self-reported data is a flawed approach.

Signs suggest the Justice Department list includes some individuals who likely broke the law. On Monday, officials charged 28 people from that roster with lying on naturalization applications and fraudulently signing up to vote. Almost everyone cast illegal ballots during elections, according to government sources. These defendants are all lawful permanent residents facing serious accusations.