Trump’s unsubstantiated – A federal investigation into California’s election process has been launched after President Donald Trump made unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud following the state’s June 2 primary, where vote counting is still ongoing. Prosecutors from the U.S. atto
By Friday morning, the story had shifted from a tight California primary to a federal investigation—one triggered by President Donald Trump’s claims of “crooked” voting and mail-in ballot “cheating” as vote counting remained unfinished after the June 2 election.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles confirmed that it had launched “multiple election fraud investigations” into California’s elections. It also said it dispatched a prosecutor to the county’s vote-counting center, where ballots are still being tabulated.
The move landed just a day after Trump publicly intensified allegations tied to the late-arriving. Democratic-leaning mail ballots that have been narrowing margins in races backed by Trump. including contests for governor and Los Angeles mayor. Election observers have warned that pushing fraud narratives before results are certified can feed misinformation and distrust. especially when counting takes longer than some voters expect.
Trump’s claims were made in two different settings on Friday. In Chippewa Falls. Wisconsin. during a roundtable discussion. he suggested—without evidence—that Democrats were manipulating the vote count. pointing to how tight the numbers were getting. “You look at what’s happening—it’s getting tighter and tighter and tighter,” Trump said. “And the people who were supposed to win, bad things are happening. It’s a crooked state.”.
Hours later at the White House, he doubled down, telling reporters that election officials in California had uncovered suspicious ballots during counting. Trump said California officials had “found a lot of mail-in ballots last night, shockingly”.
Those statements followed a run of Truth Social posts in the days after the primary. repeatedly focusing on mail-in ballots and the pace of tabulation. On June 5, Trump wrote: “Watch California, everybody!. Our Election process is as bad, or worse, than any Third World Country. The biggest difference is. they count their Votes much faster—they don’t wait seven days to tell you who won. rigging the Election during each and every one of them. Americans are ashamed of what is happening!”.
The day before, on June 4, Trump posted multiple times alleging deliberate manipulation. He wrote: “Look what’s happening in California, the Dumocrats, right before our very eyes, are stealing the Vote. I hope the Republicans are watching so that they can finally pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT!” He also claimed: “There’s BIG cheating by the Dumocrats in California. Votes are all tied up. May not be in for weeks. Under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. Why the vote counting DELAY???”.
In another June 4 post, he went further, asserting: “The Dumocrats are at it again! 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’s remarks arrived as California’s election system continued to work through a process that has long drawn criticism from some conservatives for its extended timelines. The state can allow ballots to arrive up to seven days after Election Day. as long as they are postmarked on time. Under the system used in this week’s gubernatorial and Los Angeles mayoral primaries. California relies on a “jungle” primary structure. where the top two advance regardless of party affiliation—an approach that can produce drawn-out counting periods. particularly in close races.
California, meanwhile, has been reliably Democratic in recent presidential and statewide elections. In 2020. Joe Biden won the state by a wide margin. securing roughly two-thirds of the vote. driven largely by heavily populated urban counties including Los Angeles. the Bay Area. and Sacramento. Turnout in 2020 was notably high, boosted by expanded mail-in voting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mail ballots now make up a significant share of votes in California, typically around 80 percent.
Gavin Newsom. the state’s Democratic governor. has already warned election officials that longer counts can create openings for false narratives. Last month. Newsom wrote to election officials thanking them for their work. while cautioning that prolonged counting periods can fuel misinformation. “We must acknowledge that the longer the vote count takes, the more mis- and dis-information spreads,” he wrote. “That means we must do all that we can to tabulate votes quickly and accurately. Time is of the essence in preventing election lies from taking root.”.
Election observers have echoed the same tension: counting accurately takes time. but leaving results unresolved also leaves space for online speculation. Mike DuHaime of the Democracy Defense Project—a bipartisan effort to combat election misinformation—said on Wednesday: “Conducting elections with integrity and ensuring that every eligible vote is counted are fundamental to maintaining public confidence in our democracy.” He added: “At the same time. prolonged delays in ballot tabulation. such as those that have become increasingly common in California. can undermine public trust and create unnecessary uncertainty around election outcomes.” DuHaime said that “The longer election results remain unresolved. the greater the opportunity for misinformation and speculation to spread online. eroding confidence in our electoral process. ” while emphasizing: “Accuracy must always remain the highest priority. but accuracy and timeliness are not mutually exclusive.”.
Trump’s new allegations fit into a broader pattern from his 2020 loss. when he and his allies claimed the election had been “stolen.” That campaign of claims included accusations involving mail-in ballots. voting machines. and irregularities in key swing states. After the 2020 election. more than 60 legal challenges were brought across states including Pennsylvania. Georgia. Arizona. and Michigan. and courts repeatedly rejected the claims. citing insufficient evidence or lack of legal standing. Many were dismissed outright, and others failed on their merits, including before judges appointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents.
In this latest dispute. the core friction is plain: California’s ballot-processing timeline—built into state law and shaped by the role of mail voting—has continued even as Trump pointed at the delay as proof of wrongdoing. Now. the federal investigation begins with prosecutors sent to a county vote-counting center. even as California’s vote count remains unfinished after the June 2 primary.
Newsweek said it contacted the White House for comment via email outside of regular working hours. U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli—Trump’s appointee as the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles—confirmed the federal office’s announcement and the decision to visit the county’s ballot tabulation center.
California elections election fraud investigation Los Angeles U.S. attorney Bill Essayli Donald Trump Truth Social mail-in ballots vote counting delay jungle primary Gavin Newsom Democracy Defense Project misinformation