JUNE 13, 2026
Federal Prosecutor Bill Essayli Signals Potential Election Fraud Charges in California Primary
Bill Essayli, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, said during a June 2025 media appearance that his office plans to bring election fraud charges within "one or two months" related to California's June 2 primary election. He made the remarks before vote counting had concluded in parts of the state. His comments drew criticism from California Democrats and Newsom administration officials, who said credible prosecutors do not publicly discuss potential charges or ongoing investigations.
Bill Essayli, appointed as a top federal prosecutor in California in April 2025 by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi, drew attention this week after stating on conservative commentator Glenn Beck's show that election fraud charges were forthcoming. "We will be charging some people," Essayli said, adding that his office needed some primary results to be certified before proving certain allegations. He also said investigators were "looking for any sort of wide-scale conspiracies" but described current evidence as pointing to "more individual actors."
The remarks came in the context of President Trump posting on social media two days after the June 2 primary that Democrats were trying to "STEAL" the California governor's race and the Los Angeles mayoral contest through late-arriving mail ballots. When Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt failed to advance to the general election, Trump posted that there had been "BIG cheating by the Dumocrats in California." Trump offered no proof for those assertions, according to the Washington Examiner's reporting.
Newsom administration spokesperson Brandon Richards responded sharply: "Credible prosecutors don't comment on ongoing investigations, including whether an investigation exists at all." The friction between Essayli and the Newsom administration predates his federal appointment, rooted in years of clashes as a state Assembly member over immigration, California's sanctuary-state laws, election-integrity measures, and education policy.