DOJ told a court it hasn’t implemented Trump’s anti-voting order. Todd Blanche’s testimony just undermined that, new filing alleges

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche might have stepped on a rake Tuesday when he told a Senate panel that the Department of Justice (DOJ) was “working with other agencies within the administration to implement” President Donald Trump’s recent executive order on mail voting. 

In a filing Wednesday, Democratic lawyers argued that Blanche’s sworn congressional testimony contradicted DOJ’s courtroom claims in the ongoing challenge to the order.*

Trump’s order directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) to create lists of verified U.S. citizens eligible to vote in each state. It also tells the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to send absentee ballots only to voters on approved lists submitted by states.

In a hearing last week, DOJ attorneys swore that the lists hadn’t been created yet “and might not be.” In response, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols explicitly warned the DOJ to notify the court of the administration’s plans for compiling the lists. 

But Tuesday, Blanche told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee that the White House was coordinating implementation of the order across agencies, including the DOJ. 

“[DOJ] is working with other agencies within the administration to implement the goals, which I think are appropriate goals, to make sure that we have free and fair elections, to make sure that those are implemented, whether it’s the DOJ that needs to implement them or some other federal agency,” he said.

During last week’s preliminary injunction hearing, Nichols seemed to question whether the lawsuit was “ripe” — that is, whether the Democratic plaintiffs had cause to sue before there was evidence that the federal government had taken concrete steps to implement the order. 

Arguing for the government, DOJ attorney Stephen M. Pezzi claimed that “it has not even been decided within the government” how to execute the executive order.

Blanche’s testimony not only undermines that argument, it suggests that Pezzi failed to follow Nichols’ request for prompt updates on the government’s discharge of Trump’s decree. 

Nichols warned that the DOJ’s failure to keep the court apprised could lead to serious consequences. The judge indicated he expects to rule quickly on the Democratic plaintiffs’ preliminary injunction request.

If Blanche’s statement ends up hurting the DOJ’s case, it could also undermine his chances at being nominated attorney general. Trump fired his last attorney general, Pam Bondi, following her own embarrassing performance testifying before Congress.

*Democratic plaintiffs in the case are represented by the Elias Law Group (ELG). ELG Chair Marc Elias is the founder of Democracy Docket.