DOJ official claims New Jersey governor knew of voter-registration issue before criticizing Trump
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Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said Governor Mikie Sherrill was aware of a pending disclosure of non-citizen registrations in New Jersey before she called President Trump’s election claims a lie, and warned that non-cooperation could lead to lawsuits.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon told reporters that Governor Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey had prior knowledge of a forthcoming Department of Homeland Security report showing more than 35,000 potential non-citizens on the state’s voter rolls. Dhillon said the governor “already knew that this revelation was forthcoming” when she publicly called President Donald Trump a liar after his July 16 speech alleging foreign interference and inflated non-citizen registration numbers in Democratic-run states.
Dhillon warned that states that cooperate with the Justice Department would receive assistance, while those that refuse could face legal action. She added, “If they won’t work with, we’ll sue them and we’ll still fix the problem.”
Following Trump’s remarks, Sherrill joined 23 other Democratic governors in a statement condemning the president’s claims and accusing him of undermining elections. The statement, led by Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, described Trump’s assertions as “lies and conspiracy theories” and asserted that elections remain “safe and secure.”
Dhillon urged all governors to work with the DOJ to investigate alleged election-integrity violations, saying that each illegal vote “cancels out the vote of a New Jersey voter.” She gave Sherrill five business days to provide voter-registration data, a deadline that expired on Tuesday. Sherrill indicated to WCBS that she would not comply, stating that the federal government was attempting to “weaponize” the issue rather than focus on election integrity.
When asked about the accusation that she knew of the motor-voter scandal, Sherrill’s spokesperson cited comments the governor made after a visit to a grocery store in Essex County, where she said her administration was conducting an independent investigation and that “Jerseyans deserve transparency.”
Other states, including Pennsylvania and New York, have also resisted DOJ requests for voter-registration data, citing federal and state privacy protections. The department has previously filed lawsuits against officials in several states over the same issue, including New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Dale Caldwell.