MaddowBlog-'Do me a favor': Trump privately pressed prosecutor to pursue elections conspiracy theory

[LetMyPeopleVote]

It’s one thing for Democrats to argue that the Justice Department is under Trump’s thumb. It’s something else when he suggests his critics are right.

It’s one thing for White House critics to argue that federal law enforcement is under the thumb of the president, who’s effectively calling the shots at the Justice Department he controls.

It’s something else when Trump admits his critics are right.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-06-25T16:30:42.280Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-privately-pressed-prosecutor-elections-conspiracy-theory

In fact, 10 days after Californians finished casting ballots, the president started arguing that the only reason Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton advanced to the general election was that the president applied “heat” by making conspiratorial claims. (The actual reason Hilton advanced was because of vote totals.)

This week, the president elaborated on what happened behind the scenes. At an event in Pennsylvania on Tuesday afternoon, Trump told attendees:

Steve Hilton, who is running for governor. He was up in front, just about leading. No problem. Then all of a sudden, four, five days after the election is over, they said, ‘Steve Hilton is starting to lose votes.’ I said, ‘Here we go again.’ I called up the very powerful, very good U.S. attorney in California and I said, “Do me a favor. Take a look. They are trying to steal that election.”

The electoral dynamic the president described was plainly untrue, and there was literally no evidence of anyone trying to “steal” anything.,,,,

After delivering the instructions, one U.S. attorney did, in fact, start examining the matter.

This is a rather extraordinary admission — and in a healthier political environment, it would be seen as a genuine scandal. It’s one thing for the White House’s Democratic critics to argue that federal law enforcement is under the thumb of the president, who’s effectively calling the shots at the Justice Department he controls. It’s something else when Trump more or less admits — out loud, in public, on more than one occasion — that his critics are correct.

“Trump just admitted it,” Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom noted via social media. “The President of the United States is personally directing federal prosecutors to start investigations into his political opponents when his preferred candidate may lose the election.”

[usonian]

1. Democrats voted late in the race, looking for a front-runner, and found one in Becerra.

Hilton declined because many Democrats waited for the home stretch to vote.