FBI Director Kash Patel declined to pledge that he would not “in any way interfere in the will of the American people” in November when asked by Sen. Peter Welch. Patel responded that he would not participate in Welch’s “charade of lies” and said he believes in “the rule of law.” The exchange came after Michigan Rep. and Gubernatorial candidate John James said he had already spoken with Patel and that the FBI director told him the bureau “will have a presence leading up to Election Day in Michigan.” Minnesota has already been a focus of the administration’s election enforcement push. DOJ sued Secretary of State Steve Simon for access to Minnesota’s voter-registration data, a case a federal judge dismissed in August. DOJ also sent federal election monitors to Ramsey County for Minnesota’s August primary.
