A top Justice Department official has accused New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill of knowingly criticizing President Donald Trump's claims about election integrity, despite Sherrill's administration being on the verge of disclosing a significant voter registration issue. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon stated that Sherrill knew about the forthcoming data when she publicly called the president a liar.
During a July 16 address, Trump alleged that China had obtained sensitive voter data and that U.S. intelligence agencies had withheld this information. He also claimed that several Democrat-led states, including New Jersey, had a substantial number 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 New Jersey's voter rolls.
"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," Dhillon said, referring to Sherrill. "She knew it, and she still went online and called the president a liar and said he was exaggerating – Shame on you, governor."
Dhillon indicated that governors who cooperate with the Department of Justice would receive assistance, while those who refuse could face lawsuits. "It’s a bipartisan problem, actually. And I’m really looking forward to helping everyone who will work with us fix this problem. And if they won’t work with, we’ll sue them and we’ll still fix the problem."
Following Trump's speech, Sherrill joined 23 other Democratic governors in a statement that dismissed Trump's claims, calling him a liar. The statement, led by Kentucky Governor 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 also accused Trump of attempting to "intimidate and silence voters."
Dhillon urged Sherrill and other governors to collaborate with the DOJ to investigate all substantive claims of election integrity violations, warning that their own citizens could be harmed. "Every single person who voted illegally canceled out the vote of a New Jersey voter; that is shameful," Dhillon stated. "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."
Dhillon's office gave Sherrill five business days, ending Tuesday, to provide voter data. However, Sherrill indicated to WCBS that she would not comply. "It is not a surprise… the Trump administration wants to immediately weaponize this against people as opposed to focusing on making sure we’re running free and fair elections," the governor said.
When asked about the accusation that Sherrill was aware of the voter roll issue before calling Trump a liar, Sherrill's spokesperson, Sean Higgins, directed inquiries to comments made by the governor after touring a grocery store. Sherrill stated that her administration is conducting an independent investigation to determine how the situation occurred and emphasized her administration's response to the issue. "We’re running an independent investigation right now to get to the bottom of exactly how this happened and what’s going on, but it is not a surprise to me that the federal government that the Trump administration wants to immediately weaponize this against people as opposed to focusing on making sure that we’re running free and fair elections," she said.
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and several other states have reportedly resisted similar requests for voter registration data from the DOJ, citing federal law and state privacy protections as limitations on information sharing. The DOJ has also initiated lawsuits against officials in some states concerning election integrity, including New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Dale Caldwell.