Federal Prosecutor in California Says Voter Fraud Probe Could Yield Criminal Charges

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli says his office is partnering with the FBI on multiple election fraud investigations and accuses California of blocking access to voter rolls.

CALIFORNIA — Donald J.Trump posted on Truth Social on June 18, 2026 at 11:44 AM EST, posted on Truth Social on June 18, 2026, by mentioning the source (see justthenews) to highlight a report that a top federal prosecutor in California suspects a voter fraud investigation will result in criminal charges. First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli announced that his office is partnering with the FBI on multiple election fraud investigations and accused the state of denying federal prosecutors access to voter registration records. Essayli said his team and Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon have been trying to audit California’s voter rolls for over a year under the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act and the Civil Rights Act (see justthenews). “I expect people will be charged,” Essayli said during an appearance on “The Glenn Beck Program.” “But we need a wide-scale audit of the California voter roll, which is what Harmeet and I have been trying to do for the last year.” Essayli described California as “a fraudster’s paradise” for various types of fraud, including election fraud (see justthenews). The announcement comes amid scrutiny of California’s most recent primary election, in which more than 4.2 million mail-in ballots were returned and accepted by the state. Under California law, mail-in ballots are counted as long as they are dropped off in person by 8 p.m. on Election Day or postmarked by Election Day and received by county election offices by the following Tuesday. Essayli acknowledged that successfully prosecuting widespread election fraud would face significant hurdles, noting that thousands of voters would need to be charged to prove that misconduct changed the outcome of an election (see justthenews). The federal prosecutor did not provide specific evidence of voter fraud in the state or in the recent election. The development could fuel ongoing debates about election integrity and voter confidence in California, the nation’s most populous state. In the last 30 days, Trump has posted 15 times on the sub-topic of alleged election fraud out of 117 posts on elections and domestic politics, underscoring the issue’s prominence in his public messaging.

Source: Zenger analysis

NewsFindr Chart Maker