1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,480 Speaker 1: You've probably heard the story that's been going around for 2 00:00:02,520 --> 00:00:05,560 Speaker 1: about eight months about thousands of people being bust into 3 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:09,520 Speaker 1: New Hampshire from Massachusetts to vote illegally in last year's election. 4 00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:12,520 Speaker 1: President Trump even told that story to a group of 5 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:16,080 Speaker 1: Senators in a closed door meeting in February. New Hampshire 6 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:19,040 Speaker 1: officials have denied those claims, and there's been no evidence 7 00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:22,320 Speaker 1: to back them up. But President Trump's claims that three 8 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:25,720 Speaker 1: to five million people voted illegally in November led him 9 00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:29,040 Speaker 1: to set up a controversial voter fraud Commission, which held 10 00:00:29,080 --> 00:00:32,880 Speaker 1: its first meeting in July. Any form of illegal or 11 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:37,600 Speaker 1: fraudulent voting, whether by noncitizens or the deceased, and any 12 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:43,080 Speaker 1: form of voter suppression or intimidation, must be stopped. That 13 00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:46,920 Speaker 1: commission has been the center of controversy since its inception. 14 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:50,279 Speaker 1: Joining us as Bloomberg News legal reporter Andrew Harris, who 15 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:53,440 Speaker 1: has written an article in Bloomberg Business Week entitled the 16 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:58,000 Speaker 1: Few Democrats on Trump's Voter Fraud Panel, pushed back Andrew 17 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:01,600 Speaker 1: tell us about the surprising allegations the head of the 18 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:06,240 Speaker 1: integrity Panel, Kansas Secretary of State Chris Kolback, made about 19 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:10,120 Speaker 1: New Hampshire's voting. Hi June, Michael, thanks for having me 20 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:12,600 Speaker 1: on the show. Chris Callback for a long time has 21 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:18,319 Speaker 1: been associated with toughening voter registration UH laws. Uh it 22 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:22,280 Speaker 1: kind of goes hand in hand with his UH other association, 23 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:27,480 Speaker 1: which is with toughening U S immigration laws. So about 24 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 1: five days before the panel met in Manchester, New Hampshire, 25 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 1: earlier this month, UH Colback, who is Kansas Secretary of 26 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 1: State and a candidate for governor there. He's a Republican, 27 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:41,960 Speaker 1: wrote a column for Breitbart in which he asserted that 28 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:45,320 Speaker 1: more than six thousand people who voted in last year's 29 00:01:45,319 --> 00:01:49,760 Speaker 1: election in New Hampshire showed up the polls using out 30 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:52,800 Speaker 1: of state driver's licenses as I das, and that only 31 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:57,200 Speaker 1: some five and that ten months later, only a thousand 32 00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:00,160 Speaker 1: or so of those people that actually UH secure were 33 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: New Hampshire ideas. So Mr koback ansserted that the balance 34 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:07,480 Speaker 1: of those people were apparently in violation of New Hampshire 35 00:02:08,040 --> 00:02:11,079 Speaker 1: residency laws, and that there's a good chance that these 36 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:14,440 Speaker 1: people were out of state voters who tipped both the 37 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:19,240 Speaker 1: Senate election there and potentially the presidential balloting there in 38 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:23,600 Speaker 1: favor of Democrats Maggie has Hassan and Hillary Clinton, and 39 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:29,280 Speaker 1: so what was the response. The response from New Hampshire 40 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:32,800 Speaker 1: Secretary of State Bill Gardner was a numbers, uh, don't 41 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:38,359 Speaker 1: constitute proof. He wouldn't substantiate the allegations. Another Democratic member 42 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:42,000 Speaker 1: of the panel, Main Secretary of State, Matt Dunlop, called 43 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:45,239 Speaker 1: the column reckless and said that making this allegation was 44 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:47,560 Speaker 1: tantum out to say that money found in somebody's wallet 45 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:50,040 Speaker 1: was evidence that they had robbed the bank. So it 46 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 1: didn't go over very well at the Commission meeting in 47 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:57,360 Speaker 1: Manchester Andrew More generally, given that the you know how 48 00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:00,840 Speaker 1: partisan a lot of Democrats feel this voter for commission is. 49 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:04,000 Speaker 1: You know, you've got five Democrats on the Commission. How 50 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:07,520 Speaker 1: are they approaching this? And beyond just that allegation, well, 51 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:10,519 Speaker 1: you know you have at least what appears facially to 52 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:13,399 Speaker 1: being in balance. As I said, Chris Kulback has spent 53 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 1: a lot of time working on election law issues, as 54 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:21,200 Speaker 1: have some of the other more notable Republicans on the Commission. 55 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:24,840 Speaker 1: Hans von Spakovski and Jay Christian Adams, both of Rum, 56 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:30,680 Speaker 1: are former Republican Justice Department attorneys. On the other side, 57 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:35,120 Speaker 1: you have Mr Gardner, Mr Dunlap, a former Arkansas state lawmaker, 58 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:40,920 Speaker 1: a West Virginia County clerk, and in Alabama probate judge. 59 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:44,680 Speaker 1: None of uma is closely associated with this issue, as 60 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:48,160 Speaker 1: are the three men that I mentioned on the Republican side. Nonetheless, 61 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:51,240 Speaker 1: has spoken to all of them except for Judge Allen King, 62 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:55,240 Speaker 1: and they've all said that they are resolute in staying 63 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:58,320 Speaker 1: on the panel, even as uh, some of their colleagues 64 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:02,400 Speaker 1: have said, well, you're lending a veneer of credibility to 65 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:07,200 Speaker 1: this uh not credible effort. Uh. Their their opinion is 66 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:10,600 Speaker 1: that they're best fighting from the inside then walking away. 67 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:13,800 Speaker 1: And Andrew, So, there have been these accusations that this 68 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:16,880 Speaker 1: is a partisan commission from the beginning, but you're write 69 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:19,839 Speaker 1: about evidence that at least one of the panel's Republican 70 00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:24,440 Speaker 1: members you just spoke about was concerned about even including Democrats. 71 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:27,760 Speaker 1: That would be Mr von Spakovsky. On the day that 72 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:30,760 Speaker 1: the Commission was meeting in Manchester, a public interest group 73 00:04:30,839 --> 00:04:35,160 Speaker 1: released a copy of an email they had gotten pursued 74 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:37,760 Speaker 1: to a Freedom of Information Act request. It was an 75 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:40,719 Speaker 1: email sent by Mr von Spakovsky, He says to a 76 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:42,920 Speaker 1: friend back in February had ultimately made its way to 77 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:47,360 Speaker 1: Attorney General Sessions, in which Mr von Spakovsky expressed concern 78 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:51,640 Speaker 1: about putting uh Democrats or even moderate Republicans on the 79 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:54,640 Speaker 1: Commission and asserting that they would be an impediment to 80 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:58,240 Speaker 1: the Commission's objectives and that email is one of the 81 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:01,440 Speaker 1: reasons that seven Democrat at the Senator has asked the 82 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:05,240 Speaker 1: Department of Justice on Tuesday to explain any involvement it 83 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:08,840 Speaker 1: has with the Commission. The Justice Department has said that 84 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:12,159 Speaker 1: it has no involvement with the commission. Is that correct? 85 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:15,960 Speaker 1: Its correct? We haven't We haven't seen any evidence of that. 86 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:20,000 Speaker 1: The Commission is nominally led by Vice President Pence. Mr 87 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:24,039 Speaker 1: Kolback is the vice chairman of the commission. Has uh 88 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:28,200 Speaker 1: you noted it is a majority Republican entity, seven Republicans, 89 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:34,040 Speaker 1: five Democrats. Uh. They're they're they're charged with investigating problems 90 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:38,479 Speaker 1: with American election integrity and what gives people confidence in 91 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:41,880 Speaker 1: what takes it away. But there's been no indication that 92 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:44,320 Speaker 1: the Justice Department has weighed in on this, at least 93 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:48,440 Speaker 1: not that I've seen. So what has Judge Alan King, 94 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:52,080 Speaker 1: who you mentioned earlier, has written a memo on these 95 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:55,880 Speaker 1: Where is he at all this? Uh, he's one of 96 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:58,919 Speaker 1: the minorty Democrats and he's worried that the Commission is 97 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:01,479 Speaker 1: spending more time I'm looking for ways to keep people 98 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:05,240 Speaker 1: from voting, even by toughening registration laws or toughening voter 99 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:09,560 Speaker 1: ID laws. Then it is helping people to vote. And 100 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:11,960 Speaker 1: his concern, and it's echoed by a lot of his 101 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:15,640 Speaker 1: fellow Democrats. Is it The end result of this Commission's 102 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:18,480 Speaker 1: work will be a recommendation to the President to toughen 103 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:22,520 Speaker 1: those registration and voting laws and make it harder for 104 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:25,960 Speaker 1: some people to get to the polls and cast their votes. Andrew, 105 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:28,720 Speaker 1: what has struck you as you were writing this about 106 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:34,320 Speaker 1: the way Americans view voter fraud? Well, you know, June, 107 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:36,320 Speaker 1: this is really where the rubber meets the road in 108 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:38,440 Speaker 1: the democratic process. I mean, there are a lot of 109 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:41,920 Speaker 1: hot button issues, whether it's gone ownership or gay marriage 110 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:46,080 Speaker 1: or abortion rights. But this is people voting, So there's 111 00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:49,960 Speaker 1: probably nothing more essential to the process than that. And 112 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:53,280 Speaker 1: depending on who you talk to, people either are convinced 113 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:57,400 Speaker 1: that this is a widespread, endemic problem or that it 114 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:00,960 Speaker 1: hardly exists at all. Nobody's saying it does exist, but 115 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:03,600 Speaker 1: the question is really scale and there doesn't seem to 116 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:06,119 Speaker 1: be a lot of middle ground being expressed from either side. 117 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:10,720 Speaker 1: Thanks so much. That's Andrew Harris, and he is a 118 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:14,360 Speaker 1: Bloomberg News legal reporter and he wrote this article, very 119 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 1: well researched for Bloomberg Business Week entitled the Few Democrats 120 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:22,360 Speaker 1: on Trump's voter fraud panel push Back. That's it for 121 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:25,080 Speaker 1: this edition of Bloomberg Law. We will be back Monday 122 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:27,560 Speaker 1: at one pm Wall Street Time, and hope that you 123 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:31,000 Speaker 1: will be as well. Thanks to our producer David Suckerman 124 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:34,080 Speaker 1: and our technical director Sean Kilby. You can always find 125 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:36,760 Speaker 1: the latest legal news at Bloomberg Law dot com and 126 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:39,920 Speaker 1: Bloomberg BNA dot com, plus a website for the legal 127 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:43,200 Speaker 1: community at Big law Business dot com and Attorneys You 128 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:46,720 Speaker 1: can find exceptional legal research and business development tools there 129 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:49,520 Speaker 1: as well. You can listen to the latest legal topics 130 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:51,560 Speaker 1: in the news at any time by going to our 131 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:55,520 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Law podcast. You just go to Bloomberg dot com 132 00:07:55,600 --> 00:08:00,320 Speaker 1: slash podcast slash Law for the latest legal news. Coming 133 00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:04,080 Speaker 1: up next, Bloomberg Markets with Carol Masser and Corey Johnson. 134 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:06,720 Speaker 1: Carol has just walked into the studio time enough to 135 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:09,160 Speaker 1: tell us one of the top things you'll be talking about, 136 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:13,160 Speaker 1: Carol Ware about Steve Bannon. He's back and he's targeting China. June, 137 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:17,600 Speaker 1: I have no comment on the list, no comment, speechless 138 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:19,920 Speaker 1: for one of the first times in my life. All Right, 139 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:23,320 Speaker 1: have a great weekend everyone. I'm June Graza with Michael Beast. 140 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:24,640 Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg.