Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon stated that New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill likely knew about a significant voter registration issue when she publicly criticized President Donald Trump's claims about election integrity. Dhillon asserted that Sherrill's administration was aware of the forthcoming disclosure of noncitizens being added to the state's voter rolls.
In a recent address, President Trump alleged that China had acquired sensitive voter data and that U.S. intelligence agencies had concealed this information. He also claimed that several Democrat-led states, including New Jersey, had large numbers of noncitizens registered to vote. Data released by the Department of Homeland Security in conjunction with Trump's speech indicated that over 35,000 potential noncitizens were on the rolls in New Jersey.
Dhillon told Fox News Digital, "When the president came out with his Primetime speech last Thursday, I believe in the sequencing of events that has been laid out, she already knew that this revelation was forthcoming." She added, "She knew it, and she still went online and called the president a liar and said he was exaggerating -- Shame on you, governor."
Following Trump's speech, Sherrill joined 23 other Democratic governors in issuing a statement that characterized Trump's claims as attempts to "undermine free and fair elections" and called him a liar. The statement, led by Kentucky Gov. Andrew Beshear, asserted that "No amount of lies and conspiracy theories can change the fact that our country's elections have repeatedly been proven to be safe and secure." The governors' statement further accused Trump of trying to "intimidate and silence voters" and claimed that Democrats were focused on improving the lives of American families. "Ours is a winning message, which is why he is trying to undermine democracy," the statement read.
Dhillon urged governors to cooperate with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate election integrity claims, warning that the citizens of their states could be adversely affected. "Every single person who voted illegally canceled out the vote of a New Jersey voter; that is shameful," she said. "And instead of pointing fingers at the president, which is what Governor Sherrill did… she should be raising her hand to work with the federal government to clean this up ASAP because that's the vow she took when she ran for office and she got sworn in as the governor of her state is to protect her citizens, and her citizens have a right to vote."
The DOJ has requested voter data from Sherrill's office, giving her five business days to comply. However, Sherrill indicated to WCBS that she would not be providing the requested information. Her spokesman, Sean Higgins, pointed to comments Sherrill made to reporters after touring a grocery store in Essex County. In those remarks, Sherrill stated that her administration was conducting an independent investigation into how the issue occurred and suggested the Trump administration was attempting to "weaponize" the situation rather than focus on ensuring free and fair elections.
Several other states, including Pennsylvania and New York, have also reportedly resisted similar data requests from the DOJ, citing federal law and state privacy protections. The DOJ has initiated lawsuits against officials in some states over election integrity concerns, including a case involving New Jersey Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell.