Overview
- Reporting says the Justice Department canceled routine in-person training for election-crime prosecutors and FBI agents and scrubbed a planned weeklong online course, leaving fewer coordinated training opportunities for field teams.
- A long-used 281-page prosecutorial manual, Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses, was removed from the department website, eliminating a widely cited reference for handling election cases.
- The Public Integrity Section, which historically housed election-crime specialists, was reportedly stripped of most of its lawyers and the head of the Election Crimes Branch resigned without an immediate replacement.
- The department has not stood up the customary around-the-clock Election Day command center that coordinates federal responses to voting emergencies, a gap that former prosecutors say could slow or unevenly direct support to local officials.
- The DOJ issued a statement saying election integrity remains a top priority, while outside experts warn the changes create a knowledge gap, raise risks of politicized decision-making, and heighten stakes before the November election.