huffpost Press
GOP Official Goes 'Toe To Toe' With Trump, Says Election Threat From U.S. Gov. Is A First
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Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, a Republican who oversees elections in the deep-red state, said threats to the electoral process are originating from the federal government for the first time. “In the past two elections that I oversaw as lieutenant governor, the threats were all external,” Henderson said on Sunday’s “60 Minutes” episode. “Non-state actors, cybersecurity threats and other things. But now we also have threats coming from within our own government.” “Your federal government?” correspondent Lesley Stahl asked. “That’s right,” Henderson answered. Stahl noted that the Justice Department had demanded voter registration lists from Utah, California and other states. Henderson refused to comply. “They wanted things that we typically are required by law to keep private,” Henderson explained. “Social Security numbers, full dates of birth, driver’s license numbers.” “We just weren’t given very good answers, and we were concerned about what they would do with that data,” she added. Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, insisted to “60 Minutes” that the voter-roll push was “not to sow distrust.” “The distrust is there,” she said, failing to mention that Trump’s false claims of 2020 election fraud are a gigantic reason for that. The Justice Department has sued dozens of noncompliant states for voting roster access to ensure noncitizens don’t vote, the department claimed. Many of the suits were thrown out. (The news show cited stats indicating an exceedingly low incidence of noncitizen voting in Utah ― 52 suspected people out of more than 2 million voters.) On Friday, Trump threatened voting officials who oppose him with time behind bars. “You could go to prison,” Stahl told Henderson. “We’re not going to prison. No. It’s silly,” Henderson said. “You’re absolutely sure?” Stahl followed. “Well....” Henderson said with a smidgen of doubt. Mentioning that the DOJ had directly told Henderson that she was under investigation, Stahl said, “You are toe-to-toe with the president of the United States. It’s a big thing that you’re doing.” “I’m just doing my job,” she responded. Stahl called her defiance “bold.” “I have to tell myself it doesn’t matter what the consequences are, as long as I feel like I’m doing what’s right,” Henderson replied. “I think this is an important thing for me to do, holding these guardrails, holding the line. Someone has to.” By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
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