In New Jersey, Trump-Appointed Prosecutor Vows to Hunt Fraud While Bomb Threats Disrupt Voting

Alina Habba, the former personal attorney to President Donald Trump and the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, vowed to hunt for voter fraud in Tuesday’s election.

Separately, the state announced that law enforcement responded to emailed bomb threats at polling places in seven counties. 

The developments add fuel to a tense election atmosphere in the Garden State, where Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli are running for governor in one of the most closely watched races in the country in this year’s off-year elections. 

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office will coordinate with our partners at the FBI to respond to complaints related to the upcoming general election,” Habba said in a video posted on social media Monday evening. “This office will investigate and prosecute any criminal activity related to the election process, including intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling voters, impersonating voters, altering voting ballots and tallies, stuffing ballot boxes and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input, and it will do so regardless of who commits those crimes and regardless of party or affiliation.”

In August, a federal judge found that Habba has been unlawfully serving as U.S. Attorney since July.

On Tuesday morning, hours after Habba’s announcement, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin (D) announced the bomb threats at polling places. 

It’s unclear how many polling places were affected by the threats but Platkin said in a statement that they were made to locations in Bergen, Essex, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, and Passaic Counties. Platkin added that law enforcement has responded to each affected polling site and that some of them have already reopened — while voters at other locations will be directed to nearby polling locations to cast their ballots. 

The turmoil comes not long after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it is sending federal election monitors to Passaic County, as well as several counties in California. In Passaic, the monitors are said to be observing the ballot counting process, at the request of local Republicans.

Democrats and democracy advocates warned the DOJ’s move may be a potential step toward the Trump administration seizing control of voting.

“Voters should continue to have confidence that they can cast their ballot without fear of intimidation, and we will continue to work tirelessly to ensure a free, fair, and secure election,” Platkin said in a statement. “Make no mistake: We will not tolerate any attempts to interfere with our elections, and we will swiftly hold accountable anyone who seeks to interfere with the safety or security of our electoral process.”