President Donald Trump vowed Wednesday to investigate what he called “major” voter fraud, focusing in part on voters registered in two states. We have a great place for him to start: His own chief strategist. And his Treasury pick. And his daughter.
After losing the popular vote by almost 3 million ballots in November’s election, Trump has repeatedly ― and incorrectly ― claimed that voter fraud is what cost him the popularity win. As recent as Monday evening, Trump lied to Capitol Hill leaders when he said up to 5 million “illegals” voted for Hillary Clinton.
“I don’t think he was joking,” said one person familiar with what happened in the meeting. “He spent 10 minutes on his win and said he won the popular vote, except 3 to 5 million illegals voted for” Clinton.
Trump took to Twitter Wednesday to promise an investigation into voter fraud that would specifically target those who are registered to vote in two different states.
A look into state records by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune revealed that Steve Bannon, Trump’s senior White House adviser, is in fact registered to vote in two states.
Though Bannon cast his vote in New York, he is also registered to vote in Sarasota County, Florida. His status in both places remains active, according to records obtained by the Herald-Tribune.
Bannon isn’t the only one. Trump’s nominee to head the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, is registered to vote in California and New York. And Trump’s own daughter Tiffany is registered in Pennsylvania and New York.
As The Guardian points out, it isn’t illegal to be registered to vote in two states, only to cast ballots in two states. It’s unclear if Trump knows that. But if the president’s plan is to conduct sweeping investigations into everyone registered to vote in two states, he had better start with one of his closest allies.
This post has been updated to include Steven Mnuchin and Tiffany Trump.
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