WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), member of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee with oversight over federal elections, and 12 members of the Rules and Judiciary Committees sent a letter to Corey R. Amundson, Chief of the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section, requesting an immediate explanation of the Department’s recent decision to weaken its longstanding policy of non-interference with elections. The Department has long recognized that public investigations of alleged election fraud can “interject the investigation itself as an issue” in an ongoing election, creating “the obvious risk of chilling legitimate voting and campaign activities”, but DOJ has recently changed these decades-old strictures with little notice or explanation. 

This policy change coincides with repeated false claims by the President and Attorney General Barr that voting by mail will lead to rampant fraud – in the face of FBI denials of such allegations – while the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is warning that Russia is amplifying these claims to undermine trust in the electoral process. In addition, reports in recent days point to continued efforts by Russia and Iran to undermine the public’s trust in the 2020 election.

“It is deeply troubling that the Department has chosen to weaken its non-interference policy weeks before Election Day and while millions of Americans have already voted, many of them by mail,” the senators said. 

“This policy change coincides with repeated false claims by the President and Attorney General Barr that voting by mail will lead to rampant fraud. The Department of Homeland Security has warned that Russia is amplifying these claims in an effort to undermine public trust in the electoral process.”

Senator King regularly sounds the alarm on interference issues as the 2020 general election is underway – he believes it is fundamentally important to voters’ faith in the democratic process and preserving American values. In August, he pressed nominees for top Defense Department intelligence and inspector general positions on the importance of independent assessments, serving the facts rather than the objectives of a political figure or party, during a nominations hearing of the Senate Armed Service Committee. Senator King also sought the nominees’ thinking on how best to appropriately declassify material to inform the public on issues such as election security – a topic he raised in a Time magazine national column in July. He quickly released a statement in late August on the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) John Ratcliffe’s announcement that it will no longer brief Congress on election security issues, and continued sounding the alarm on social media and national television.

Full text of the letter can be found HERE and below.

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October 20, 2020

Dear Mr. Amundson:

We request an immediate explanation of the Department’s recent decision to weaken its longstanding policy of non-interference with elections, which ensures that election fraud investigations do not affect an upcoming election.  

The Department has long recognized that public investigations of alleged election fraud can “interject[] the investigation itself as an issue” in an ongoing election, creating “the obvious risk of chilling legitimate voting and campaign activities.” Department policy thus prohibits overt investigative steps in such cases “until the election in question has been concluded, its results certified, and all recounts and election contests concluded.” [Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses, p. 84]

The Department has reportedly announced an exception to this policy that would allow election fraud allegations to be publicly announced before the 2020 election if “the integrity of any component of the federal government is implicated by election offenses.”  The exception appears to encompass allegations of mail voting fraud, which the Department could now publicly announce while voting is underway.

This policy change coincides with repeated false claims by the President and Attorney General Barr that voting by mail will lead to rampant fraud.  The Department of Homeland Security has warned that Russia is amplifying these claims in an effort to undermine public trust in the electoral process.  

It is deeply troubling that the Department has chosen to weaken its non-interference policy weeks before Election Day and while millions of Americans have already voted, many of them by mail. We therefore ask that you provide the following information no later than October 23:

1.     What is the complete text of the new exception to the Department’s non-interference with elections policy?

2.     Why did the Department create this exception at this time?

3.     Who participated in the creation of the exception, including the decision to create it and the drafting process?

4.     How will the Department ensure that actions taken pursuant to the exception do not “chill[] legitimate voting and campaign activities” or jeopardize “the Department’s reputation for fairness, neutrality, and non-partisanship”? 

5.     How will the Department ensure that actions taken pursuant to the exception will not interfere with or disturb the delivery and counting of mail-in ballots? 

Thank you for your prompt attention to this request.