BREAKING: DOJ drops BOMBSHELL midterm announcement

Mark, in many ways, this is the episode. that I've been waiting to to record with. you. There is a new announcement by. Harit Dylan, who is in charge of the. civil rights division at the Department. of Justice as it relates to midterms, something that we've been talking about. for months and months and months. Can. you explain what that announcement is? >> Yeah, she announced that the Department. of Justice is going to deploy 1,000. poll monitors and observers in. connection with the midterm elections. This is an extraordinary number. This is. an unprecedented assault on democracy at.

the hands of the department that is. supposed to be there to protect voting. rights. You know, Brian, the whole point. of the Department of Justice being able. to deploy people to monitor the the the. polls was to make sure that black voters. were not disenfranchised. in the Jim Crow South. Right? That's. what this grew out of. And the. Department of Justice over Democratic. and Republican presidents has always. deployed some number of these monitors.

in places with histories of. disenfranchising minority voters or. language minorities or disabled voters. But Brian, what we already saw in 2025. in the midterm elections when this first. broke onto the the the the news and what. we have seen since then in a slow steady. drip is not that these monitors are. being deployed in order to make sure. that everyone's voting rights are. protected. Instead, they are being sent. out to create the facts on the ground to.

make a false narrative plausible. By. that I mean by having these people in. areas that are predominantly blue areas, whether it's cities or blue states, so. that they can then come back and say. there was this irregularity, there was. this kind of fraud, there was this kind. of problem. Brian, this is all lattering. up to something very serious. And I. don't say this lightly. We we have known. for some time now that Donald Trump is. going to try to take over the voting. process. We've also known for some time.

that Donald Trump is going to use a. pretext, use a false claim of fraud as. he has before to contest the outcome of. this elections. And that is what this is. setting up towards. >> It's worth asking here in to trying to. figure out what these poll monitors. actually look like. Do you presume. that's going to be bureaucrats, or do. you think it's more likely that we're. going to be looking at the people who. are already being deployed across the. country, which are ICE agents, a group. of people who are answerable only to.

Donald Trump, who refuse to show their. face, who refuse to wear insignia, and. who in large part already have um kind. of a brand image that lends itself to. what this administration wants, which is. that they they strike fear in the hearts. of communities because they've been able. to kill with impunity. Okay. So, let's. be clear. Everyone in this. administration answers to Donald Trump, right? So, I'm going to answer your. question directly, but but it is not as. if somehow if they work at this. Department of Justice, they are immune.

from those political pressures, right? The fact is the Department of Justice. and in particular the voting rights. section, the civil rights section has. been used to weaponize against voters. So even if they came from th that. traditional section of the Department of. Justice, you know, no one should take a. lot of comfort in that. But here's the. thing, Brian. They don't have a thousand. people in the voting rights section. I. doubt they have a thousand people even. in the entire civil rights division of. the Department of Justice. And so.

they're going to have to get these. people from somewhere. And you know, and. I know what what that means. Donald. Trump will say, "Okay, we're going to. use federal agents, ICPB, FBI, whatever. it is. Who is better to know how to spot. fraud than those people, and we will. deputize them as DOJ monitors?" Now, if. this sounds fanciful to people, you. remember a few months ago when there was. a government shutdown and there was a. shortage of TSA agents, remember what.

they did, Ryan? You remember? They. deputized ICE agents to be at the. airports as sort of TSA agent assistants. and that is what I fear we are going to. see this November. >> Isn't it against the law if there are. federal agents who are armed standing at. polling places? Like doesn't doesn't. federal law explicitly prohibit. something like that from happening? >> It does. So there's a couple ways they. may work around that. The first is they. may not be armed, right? I mean after.

all they can still be there and have. arrest power or have you know insignia. or as you say maybe not insignia maybe. maybe you know face covered right like. there they they don't have to have guns. in order to be intimidating. The second. thing is that, you know, we don't know. exactly how these people are going to be. deployed, whether they're going to be. immediately adjacent to voting, whether. they'll be feet away, yards away, you. know, whatever. But the final thing is, Brian, you're assuming that Donald Trump. is going to follow the law,

>> right? >> You assume that the Department of. Justice is going to pay attention to. that criminal statute. Well, I mean, who. enforces that statute, right? >> The Department of Justice. So like this. is the place in which you know frankly. Brian you wrote a great book about this. and you know I know a lot of people have. already bought it. I'll once again plug. it and ask people to go out and and buy. it. But but but but one of the things. you have been a real observer of and. advocate for is I think Democrats.

sometimes we take too much comfort in. the idea of well there's a law against. that, >> right? As if it's self-executing, >> right? And because there's a law against. it, we won't do the thing and Donald. Trump will do the thing. Hell, even when. there's not a law against it, if it just. like feels like it's got bad vibes or. norms or whatever word you want to use, like Democrats will be like, "Well, we. don't want to give the appearance of. this or that." And and Donald Trump. doesn't care about any of that. And just. a quick note for those who are watching.

right now, if you would like to grab a. copy of that book, I'm going to put that. link right here on the screen and also. in the post description of this video. I. should also note that as it relates to. this issue especially, um, there is. nobody who's in a better position to be. able to talk about this stuff. There's. nobody who's in a better position to be. able to report on this and there's. nobody in a position that's better to. fight back against this than Mark and. his team. So, uh, I want everybody right. now to go click in the link in the post. description of this video and right here. on the screen to sign up for Democracy. Docket. That is the news outlet Mark. founded to focus on everything voting in. elections. That is where I'm getting all.

of my information about everything as it. relates to legal news, voting rights, and democracy uh, as we head toward. midterms right now. Mark, to that end, are we prepared to deal with this stuff? Because in large part, you know, we can. cry foul if we see something happen at. the polls, but then it's already. happened at the polls. And so, there's. not a lot of time to adjudicate this. stuff if we're in the aftermath of. election day and they can say, you know. what, we're we we're right. We shouldn't. have done this, but the damage will have.

been done by virtue of sending these. people out. And so what is the way to to. deal with this stuff. knowing full well that we've only got a. short window and if they're going to. abuse their position of power within. that short window, any litigation after. the fact is already going to be too. late. >> Yeah, look, you're you're right in that. we need to be prepared with a plan now. and we need to execute that plan in the. run-up to the elections for precisely. the reason you said. Right now, my law.

firm and I, we are in 87 cases in 43. states. So, we are litigating a lot of. cases and we will look at this. announcement by Hermy Dylan, the actions. of the Department of Justice, and I can. promise them that if they jump over the. line, in fact, if they even put a f a. toe over the line, they'll get sued and. we will litigate aggressively and we'll. win. But it can't just be left to me and. my legal team or even just to lawyers. All of us have an obligation to call. this out. And one of the things that is.

most distressing to me, Brian, is. Democracy Dog kind of broke this news, right? Like you go back and Democracy. Docket heard this interview and was out. for the story very quickly. Uh kudos. also to Bloomberg that had that actually. conducted the interview and they got it. out. Legacy Media has mostly slept on. this. Like the legacy media has not. treated this as the serious issue it is. And so we need everyone to be spreading. information about this, to be on the. lookout for this because the solutions. to this are going to be public.

awareness, public outrage, peaceful uh. uh protests. Uh and for that to happen, like I said, people need to know about. it. And that's the reason why you and I. do this series. It's the reason why, you. know, I don't even know how many hundred. at this point we have done. But I hope. everyone in addition to subscribing to. Democracy Dock and buying your book, I. hope they actually share this video. So. go ahead and click the share button and. post it on your own social media, email. it to a friend. Like we need to get this.

information in more people's hands. Mark, it's worth asking here. Is it. possible for states to deploy their own. spate of poll monitors to kind of. counteract neutralize the cavalcade of. pole monitors that the federal. government is going to deploy? And I say. states knowing that it's probably only. going to be a few states. Something. tells me that, you know, in uh in in. some other, you know, in Vermont, there's not going to be poll monitors, that it's probably going to be limited.

to swing states or swing districts. But. is this uh a situation where the states. can can offer up their own poll monitors. so that they're um armed with knowledge. of whatever it is that the federal. government is going to say is happening, but also, you know, to serve as kind of. a reassurance to voters who are going to. the polls that it's not just, you know, these armed ICE agents who are going to. be there or maybe not armed ICE agents. It's also people from the states. >> Yeah. Look, I think that that's a great. idea and we've seen some of that. We saw.

some of that already where this is. taking place, but as you point out, that's really only in blue states. So, do I think that that Governor Pritsker, Governor Nuome, uh, Governor Shapiro, Governor Moore, do I think they would do. that? Absolutely. But what about for the. voters in Austin, Texas? Yeah. >> Or in, you know, Jacksonville, Florida, right? Who are who don't have a governor. that is going to do that? In fact, quite. the contrary. What about the voters in. Memphis, Tennessee? And so, yes, I do.

think that that will be that will happen. and I think you will see Democratic. governors um uh do that. Uh and and they. should uh you know, I could listed. others, New York, uh New Jersey, Virginia, but but I worry a lot about. for voters who are not in one of those. states. >> Last question here. Harit Dylan made. this announcement that there's going to. be a thousand election monitors that are. deployed. Do you think that when it. comes time for the actual election. itself that we could be facing the. possibility of even more than that?

>> Absolutely. I mean, you know, she's. announcing a thousand now because, you. know, it's August and and they had a bad. run of luck. You know, it's no it's no. surprise that she announced the thousand. poll monitors after they had lost 22. straight cases uh to me and my team and. involving state voter files. Uh shortly. after she announced it, they lost their. 23rd case. Uh, so it didn't do them much. good, but you know, and it's no surprise. that it comes after Todd Blanch had. already just been sworn in, right? So, so it was like after the storm of Blanch.

and trying to blunt the fact that they. keep losing these cases, but we know. that between now and election day, Donald Trump will continue to get less. popular, right? We know that the bad. news for this administration is not. behind us. Yeah. >> I mean, you cover every day the the the. like the the incompetence followed by. the malevolence followed by the whatever. comes next out of this White House. And. so, as we head into September and. October, it is going to be an.

irresistible pull for Donald Trump to. try to figure out new ways to make it. harder for people to vote and easier for. them to cheat. And this offers him a. narrative on top of that. And so I the. way I think people need to think about. this is you know at first we heard that. there would be some National Guard. deployments in some places. Then in LA. there was a pretext that allowed him. Donald Trump to sort of exacerbate a. problem that didn't exist into a. full-scale confrontation. Then we saw.

what happened in Chicago and then. finally we saw what happened in. Minneapolis. Right? It was a escalation. to escalation to escalation and that is. because that is how Donald Trump. operates. So a thousand is bad. Um but. it is but there is you know you know. Brian every time you you and I think. maybe he has reached the bottom of that. >> Yeah. We're we're duly reminded that. that he has not. Well look um you know. you you had mentioned you're litigating. 87 cases right now. You also mentioned. that you're 23 and 0 against the DOJ on.

one of the most important issues, which. is the issue of the DOJ trying to gain. access to the voter roles. That includes. driver's license information, social. security information. So, um, a small. step that everybody watching right now. can take to support the invaluable work. that Mark and his team are doing, work. that keeps our own personal identifying. information private, is to subscribe to. Democracy Docket. Not only does it. support Mark and his team, but it's a. great outlet that I use again on a daily. basis for all things legal news, democracy, voting rights. So, I'm going. to put that link right here on the. screen. I'm also going to put a link to.

subscribe to this channel so that you. can see more episodes of Democracy Watch. on the screen as well. I'm Brian Teller. Cohen. >> I'm Mark Elias. >> This is Democracy Watch.