Armed Agents Are Allowed in Ballot-Counting Venues, Justice Dept. Tells Prosecutors

[yaesu]

Source: NYT

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department told federal prosecutors in an email early on Wednesday that the law allowed them to send armed federal officers to ballot-counting locations around the country to investigate potential voter fraud, according to three people who described the message.

The email created the specter of the federal government intimidating local election officials or otherwise intervening in vote tallying amid calls by President Trump to end the tabulating in states where he was trailing in the presidential race, former officials said.

A law prohibits the stationing of armed federal officers at polls on Election Day. But a top official told prosecutors that the department interpreted the statute to mean that they could send armed federal officers to polling stations and locations where ballots were being counted anytime after that.

The statute “does not prevent armed federal law enforcement persons from responding to, investigate, or prevent federal crimes at closed polling places or at other locations where votes are being counted,” the official, Richard P. Donoghue, told prosecutors in an email that he sent around 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday.



Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/04/us/politics/justice-department-armed-officers-election.html

[Phoenix61]

1. Barr goes first! nt

[smiboy1956]

2. Fubarr

Desperate people do desperate things.

[rpannier]

6. to jail..? i agree

[Ford_Prefect]

3. Sounds like Horse Shit to me. Completely made up like the garbage the Neo-Cons used to pull.

The absence of the rule does not automatically make its opposite true. There must be clear evidence of a likely or attempted crime before preemptive action like this is enabled. A judge must sign the warrants that this is so. Barr can't authorize it without cause for which clear evidence must exist on record. Otherwise it is criminal trespass for them to do so. The unsupported suspicion is not cause sufficient.

[yaesu]

4. its state sponsored voter suppression, intimidation, even during counting, that is why

there are laws against it but laws don't matter to barr.

[Ford_Prefect]

5. He makes them up as he goes along just like Toxic Orange Dufus.

Of course it doesn't help when local officials and cops are in on the deal too.

[Mawspam2]

7. You think there is a crime going on...

...where's your search warrant mf'ers?

[ArizonaLib]

8. Counting votes at gun point

Can't conservatives do anything peacefully? Answer is no. Their ideas are unpopular and reflect hateful selfishness.

[JohnnyRingo]

9. Why are they armed?

I can picture the mom and pop volunteers sitting there downloading from the machines while Seal Team Six hold them at bay. "Don't try anything funny".