Top DOJ prosecutor is latest to spread lies about California vote counting

Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor spread false conspiracy theories Monday about California’s still-ongoing primary vote count, suggesting that delayed results may be evidence of fraud.

The alarming insinuation from a top Department of Justice (DOJ) official is just the latest example of President Donald Trump and his allies using California’s protracted tallying of ballots to fuel conspiracy theories.

“On the integrity side, we’re doing an absolutely terrible job, and the American people are right to question it,” Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, told CNBC’s Joe Kernen when asked if any of the claims of voter fraud in California’s elections were true.

Though his jurisdiction lies nearly 3,000 miles from California, Clayton also took aim at the state’s mail-in voting laws.

Because of the widespread use of mail-in voting in California — ballots postmarked by Election Day but received up to seven days later are counted — it can take days or weeks for close races to be called in the Golden State.

“Why is that law there?” Clayton asked.

After CNBC’s Becky Quick pushed back and noted that the state’s practice of counting late-arriving ballots alone couldn’t constitute fraud, Clayton asserted that it creates “an opportunity for fraud.”

Several California Republicans, including Bill Essayli, Trump’s handpicked top prosecutor for the Central District of California, have disputed that the count lag alone is evidence of cheating. 

However, Essayli has also fueled election conspiracies in the state by announcing “multiple” unspecified investigations into claims of election fraud.

Trump falsely asserted last week that the delay means Democrats are “stealing” the California vote.

In the interview Monday, Clayton also rejected the idea that a lack of access to voting is a problem for some voters. 

“I don’t hear anybody claiming that they don’t have access to the ballot box,” Clayton said.