Authored by Debra Heine via American Greatness,

Los Angeles County election officials admitted in a federal court filing Tuesday that they have no independent way to verify voter citizenship beyond the voter's own attestation. The intensifying case, which was initially assigned to a Trump-appointed judge, was transferred to a Clinton-appointed judge on Wednesday.

Assistant Registrar Monica Flores stated the office is "not equipped or authorized" to verify citizenship because it does not independently house immigration, travel, or naturalization records.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli called this a "massive concession" in a statement on X, pointing out that Under federal law, only citizens may vote.

"Yet California has not acted on the list of 20,000 suspected noncitizens or agreed to set aside their ballots," Essayli wrote. "American citizens' votes are being diluted in California."

Governor Gavin Newsom's press office (D.) countered on X that California has complied with the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, which permits reliance on sworn voter statements rather than independent documentary verification.

"18 U.S.C. § 611: It shall be unlawful for any alien to vote in any election held solely or in part for the purpose of electing a candidate for federal office," Essayli posted in response. "18 U.S.C. § 2: Whoever commits an offense against the United States or aids, abets, counsels, commands, induces or procures its commission is punishable as a principal."

The Justice Department sued California last week, demanding the state segregate those 20,000 ballots pending verification.

Federal agents arrested more than two dozen foreign nationals across California on Monday, for fraudulently registering and voting in U.S. elections.

The 28 suspects were charged with a combination of illegal voting, making a false claim of U.S. citizenship in order to vote, and "knowingly depriving the residents of California of a fair and impartial election process," Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter told reporters at a news conference in Los Angeles.

Essayli suggested on X that the 28 arrested on Monday were just the beginning. "This does not mean the other 19,972 are lawful voters."

"The arrests prove our list is accurate and that noncitizens are actually voting. Our goal is to prevent California from counting the ballots of noncitizens, not to arrest all 20k on the list," he added.

Newsom and the state's Democrat election officials dispute the scale of the problem and characterize the federal intervention as an attempt to bully and suppress voters ahead of the November 3 midterm election.

In a major setback for the Trump administration, the federal judge overseeing United States v. State of California was transferred Wednesday from Judge John W. Holcomb, a Trump appointee, to Judge David Carter, a Clinton appointee who dismissed a Justice Department lawsuit against California last year that accused the state of not following federal laws on proper maintenance of voter rolls.