In the past two weeks, the FBI conducted a search in a major Democratic county in a swing state, in service of debunked theories about fraud in the 2020 election; the Justice Department attempted to extort voter rolls from another Democratic state under threat of armed occupation; and the president floated plans to “nationalize” elections. The New York Times reports that Gabbard met with some of the FBI officers the following day and put Trump on speakerphone for a chat with them—a serious departure from normal practice, and a move that emphasizes the appearance of inappropriate pressure: a federal law-enforcement agency acting as a political agent of the president in a nakedly partisan operation. Third, an election is at greatest danger of interference when the margin of victory is narrow, and Americans’ growing disapproval of the president’s handling of immigration and the economy has buoyed Democrats on the generic ballot for Congress.
Author: David A. Graham
Published at: 2026-02-03 22:48:00
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