Richard J. Durbin

Mr. President, Claims · 257 wordsyesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony from former special counsel Jack Smith, the man who investigated Donald Trump’s criminal effort overturn the results of the 2020 election.¹ Mr. Smith testified, under oath, about how the President pressured State election officials and Members of Congress to reject the results of the election, even though Trump had privately admitted that Joe Biden had won in 2020.² The President’s subversion efforts came to a head on January 6, 2021, when an armed mob, that he incited, stormed the Capitol in an attempt to disrupt the peaceful transition of power.³ Mr. Smith testified yesterday that it was Donald Trump who caused that violence, that he foresaw what would result from his conspiracy theories and that he sought to exploit it to remain in power.⁴ We remain a democracy today because of the brave public servants, many of them Republicans, who refused to cooperate with the President’s attacks on our democracy, as well as the men and women in uniform who defended this building and all of us inside on that dark day. Now, in his second term, the President is again sowing chaos and doubt in our electoral process. He is attempting to exceed the authorities granted to him by the Constitution, which clearly gives primary authority over election administration to the States. In March, President Trump signed an illegal Executive order which directed the Department of Homeland Security to overhaul the so-called SAVE database with incorrect and out-of-date citizenship information so it could be used to determine voter eligibility.⁵ Positioning · 10 wordsIt was a reckless solution in search of a problem.PositioningNo reason given Claims · 70 wordsYet last week, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority permitted part of this dangerous plan to move forward, allowing States to use the flawed database to verify the citizenship of registered voters.⁶ This will inevitably lead to voter purges and disenfranchisement of eligible voters in States that choose to use this faulty system. Unfortunately, the Trump administration’s efforts to interfere with the upcoming midterm elections go far beyond the SAVE database. Procedure · 7 wordsJust look at the Department of Justice.Procedure Claims · 170 wordsIn January, the FBI used widely debunked conspiracy theories to justify a raid on an elections office in Fulton County, GA, seizing ballots and voter rolls from the 2020 Presidential election.⁷ Later, in March, the FBI seized election materials from a partisan, Republican audit of the 2020 election in Maricopa County, AZ.⁸ In July, reporting emerged that the FBI obtained the IP address of an individual in South Carolina who registered to vote online.⁹ In response to that last case, a former senior Justice Department official noted that, ``it’s not typical and it’s not appropriate’’ ``for the FBI to be calling state election officials and just asking and conducting a fishing expedition to see private voter data.’’¹⁰ The FBI has also raided the office of a voting rights organization in Ohio, ¹¹and they showed up at the home of a poll worker in Milwaukee to ask questions about the 2020 election.¹² These are unacceptable and unprecedented steps by the FBI, all in an effort to relitigate the 2020 Presidential election. Procedure · 8 wordsBut it isn’t just FBI Director Kash Patel.Procedure Claims · 253 wordsOther components of the Justice Department have joined these efforts to support the Big Lie. DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, often called the ``crown jewel’’ of the Department, is responsible for enforcing the laws that protect the right to vote. But that mission has been effectively abandoned. Instead of protecting voting rights, the Civil Rights Division currently seems focused on intimidating eligible voters and election officials. In April, the Division sought to obtain election materials from Wayne County in the swing State of Michigan.<sup>13</sup> The Division has filed 31 lawsuits against States in an effort to obtain access to unredacted voter rolls, filled with sensitive voter data.<sup>14</sup> The Division is also planning to deploy 1,000 election observers across the country; <sup>15</sup>the election observer program has historically played an important role in protecting the right to vote, but it is ripe for misuse under this administration. Additionally, the Division has sent letters to election officials across the country threaten to file criminal charges against officials if a noncitizen casts a ballot in an upcoming election.<sup>16</sup> As the Republican-appointed Utah elections director noted in response to one of those letters, ``The federal government can best assist the State of Utah by allowing us to perform our required duties without unjustified interference, as intended by Article I, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution.’’¹⁷ Across the country, voters are beginning to receive ballots for early voting. I understand why some of those voters may look at this landscape and wonder if they should even bother trying to vote. Positioning · 12 wordsIt is indeed frightening to watch this weaponization of Federal law enforcement.Positioning Reasoning · 18 wordsBut that makes it all the more critical for Americans to make their voices heard, loud and clear. Procedure · 10 wordsAnd there is good news that should give voters confidence.Procedure Claims · 73 wordsWhile the Trump administration has had some victories, like the case before the Supreme Court last week, most of their interference efforts have been shut down by the Federal judiciary. Those DOJ lawsuits to obtain sensitive voter roll data? Courts have rejected them in every ruling so far.¹⁸ And countless State attorneys general, State and local election officials, and community organizations stand ready. They have been tirelessly preparing for this election for months, Promise · 44 wordsand they will be working to protect every eligible American’s right to access the ballot and have their vote counted. Here in Congress, I am working with my colleagues to hold Trump administration officials accountable when they try to interfere with our constituents’ rights. Positioning · 54 wordsThe reality is the President’s biggest fear is coming true: Unearned certaintyAmericans are fed up with this administration’s broken promises. And if Donald Trump thinks that he will overturn the will of the people with a conspiracy-fueled attempt to void the election, he should be ready to once again lose in courtrooms across the country.Positioning Promise · 11 wordsWe Americans will not allow our collective voices to be silenced.Vague promise