DOJ office says ‘multiple’ probes of California elections underway after Trump cries foul

ElectionsDOJ office says ‘multiple’ probes of California elections underway after Trump cries foulA federal prosecutor indicated the investigations are focused on the Los Angeles area following President Donald Trump’s claims, without evidence, of cheating in the primaries.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Voters cast their ballots at a polling location inside Metro Headquarters during a primary election in Los Angeles on Tuesday.Kyle Grillot / Bloomberg via Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJune 5, 2026, 8:57 PM EDTBy Liz Kreutz and Kyla GuilfoilA federal prosecutor in California said Friday that authorities have launched investigations tied to the state’s recent elections following President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of fraud.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said Friday morning on X that his office was pursuing “multiple election fraud investigations” alongside the FBI, without providing details.“We will follow the evidence wherever it leads and prosecute any violations of federal election law to the fullest extent,” said Essayli, who criticized California’s mail voting — a frequent target of Trump’s false claims of election fraud.The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on any election-related investigations in California.Around the same time as Essayli’s post, a federal prosecutor from the U.S. attorney’s office visited the ballot processing center for Los Angeles County, the L.A. County registrar’s office told NBC News on Friday.The registrar’s office said it was notified late Thursday that the U.S. attorney’s office would be sending a government attorney to “observe ballot processing activities.”“The individual arrived this morning, was provided an overview of the public observation program, and participated in a walkthrough of the ballot processing operatio...