By JW August / Special to OB Rag
San Diegan Shirley Weber, California’s Secretary of State, has received a warning from the U.S.Department of Justice, advising her that she or “any election officer” in California faces serious criminal charges for “knowingly retaining non-citizens on the Statewide Voter Registration List.”
The letter, sent July 7, was signed by Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division. At one time, she was one of the most influential Republican women in California politics, and her stature has grown even more since following President Trump to Washington, where she is now a powerful voice in the party. Under her direction, the division, which 69 years ago was created to protect voting rights and to fight inequality, has changed course.
Before joining the administration, Dhillon was in private practice, and the firm she founded filed lawsuits in support of many of Trump’s goals. This included a case in San Diego, where a Trump anti-vax supporter’s protests were gaining momentum.
Fast forward to the current Trump admiration and her role is again in support of conservative causes. In a recent Los Angeles Times article, a dozen former attorneys in the division said “the division has taken on a far more partisan approach.”
In the same story, Dhillon defended her work, stating that “the division’s actions aren’t political.” She added her work isn’t combative; instead, “it’s transparent.”
Dhillon believes there is clear potential for non-citizens to vote in California elections. The letter to Weber comes amid increasing pressure by the Trump administration to discredit the nation’s voting systems, which the President says are inherently flawed.
Weber’s office provided the letter to the OB Rag (see below), but told us they will not comment on it. The secretary’s website, however, does point out that “Existing law already prohibits non-citizens from voting.” And it notes that voters are “already required to provide election officials with information necessary to verify their identity and eligibility to vote.” In the last three presidential elections, her office oversaw the votes of 48 million voters.
Dhillon’s “advice” to California’s top election official includes threats of potential fines and imprisonment for “anyone knowingly and willfully giving false information in registering.”
We shared the letter with Thad Kousser, a political science professor at UC San Diego and also Co-Director of the Center for Transparent and Trusted Elections. He says the letter focuses on making sure all registered voters are indeed eligible.
“California, like all states, takes numerous steps to do so,” he said. “While I can’t speak to the federal government’s motivations here, the important thing for voters to know is that California’s Secretary of State and county registrars — like their colleagues all around the country — faithfully implement the many safeguards on the accuracy and integrity of elections that state and federal laws have put in place.”
Dhillon’s most high profile litigation in San Diego was during the pandemic when the city struggled with the reactions to George Floyd’s murder and the anti-vaccine protests. Dhillon would represent anti-vaccine protest organizer Naomi Israel, who was charged with a misdemeanor. A misdemeanor-level charge seems an uconventional case for a law firm that describes itself as litigating “for high stakes business, IP, internet, defamation and employment.” The charge was later dismissed.
Israel is also known as Naomi Soria. She later bragged on Facebook, “My protest made the front page.” According to stories in various news outlets at that time, Israel had previously been in contact with the Center for American Liberty which was also founded by Dhillon. To some it may appear to be a tactic to use anti-vax supporters to benefit Trump’s goals.
Now, Dhillon is a major player in the Trump administration, leading administration efforts to access voting records of Americans all across the country, an effort previously reported in the OB Rag.
Following her appointment over a year ago, her support of the Trump agenda has generated widespread support in the MAGA world, according to a ProPublica article published last April called “The Woman Who Thinks Civil Rights Went Too Far.”
That might explain Dhillon’s decision to send a letter sprinkled with threats to California’s top elections official – and copied to Rob Bonta, California’s Attorney General.
The letter is another element in the multi-pronged effort of the administration to implement restrictive voting rules.
As the letter demonstrates, one strategy is to threaten voting officials across the country as the November midterm election draws closer. Another is frightening Americans by continually claiming their voting systems have “vulnerabilities” and “irregularities,” which Trump claimed again in his recent national address on prime time television.
He has said repeatedly that is why he lost the 2020 presidential race. And just as often, he has never provided proof of his claims. Nor has he ever questioned the voting accuracy when he was voted into office.
Carl Luna who teaches political science at USD and is the director of the Institute for Civil Civic Engagement, was also provided a copy of the letter to Secretary Weber.
“It’s on the continuum somewhere between another administration’s nothing burger, and a major constitutional crisis,” he said. Its short term impact is to “muddy up the electoral waters even further.”
The purpose appears to be to provide Trump cover to again claim he has proof of planned fraudulent voting for this November election, particularly if the Republican party suffers losses in the House or Senate that reduces his control.
One possible scenario emerging is Trump’s effort to “Stop the Steal,” which would mean the federal government would be involved in policing the election – a power which the U.S. Constitution says belongs to individual states.
Says Luna, “It’s part of weaving the tapestry of falsely alleged corruption in elections to throw doubt on the 2026 election and to try to push for big changes in 2028.”
If the administration chooses to arrest Weber or other election officials in California, Trump has the means to do it. Homeland Security includes numerous enforcement agencies like ICE and U.S.Customs and Border Protection, which says it’s the largest law enforcement organization in the world.
Here is the DOJ Letter to Secretary of State Weber:
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So what are the issues?
States still control elections but can not register non citizens or ineligibles
The Congress can change the law