How Obama and the Left are Already Trying to Steal the 2016 Presidential Election

Yesterday, in an obscure federal courtroom the future of American constitutional liberty hung in the balance and it was saved – at least temporarily – by the integrity of District of Columbia federal district court Judge Richard J. Leon, the extraordinary efforts of Kris Kobach, the Secretary of State of Kansas and attorney J. Christian Adams of the Public Interest Legal Foundation, and a thin line of conservative ballot integrity watchdogs, including attorney Hans A. von Spakovsky of the Heritage Foundation and Richard Manning of Americans for Limited Government. 

The hearing before Judge Leon was over the temporary restraining order (TRO) and preliminary injunction (PI) being sought by the League of Women Voters and a host of other leftist groups to stop the recent decision of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to allow Kansas, Georgia, Alabama, and Arizona to enforce their proof-of-citizenship voter-registration requirement. 

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission, as an independent federal agency, was to be represented at the hearing by attorneys of the Obama Department of Justice – except as Hans von Spakovsky and Rick Manning predicted last week – the attorneys for the Obama Department of Justice were preparing to take a dive and betray their clients to the leftwing plaintiffs in the case. 

Rather than defend the legally appropriate decision of the Election Assistance Commission the Obama DOJ lawyers filed a pleading in which they not only failed to defend the actions of the Election Assistance Commission, but agreed with the plaintiffs and consented to both a Temporary Restraining Order and a Preliminary Injunction – in effect overruling the findings and actions of an independent executive agency. 

Fortunately, in an act of integrity that shows once again how fundamental to the preservation of constitutional liberty the President’s judicial appointment power is, Judge Leon called the pleading “unprecedented” and “extraordinary.”  

He said, as von Spakovsky reported in National Review Online, that he had never seen such a document in his entire experience as a lawyer or a judge. He was obviously astonished that the Justice Department was not defending the agency, and it was soon clear he was not going to allow DOJ to just roll over. 

According to von Spakovsky’s account of the hearing, Judge Leon issued orders just before the hearing started granting the motions of both the State of Kansas and the Public Interest Legal Foundation to intervene in the case in order to defend the EAC’s position.  

So Kris Kobach, the Secretary of State of Kansas, was given time to argue against the TRO motion, as was Christian Adams of PILF. The judge opened the hearing by reading into the record what attorney von Spakovsky called “an astonishing letter” sent to Judge Leon by the chair of the EAC, Christie McCormick. It informed the court that DOJ had told the EAC that it would not defend the agency, and that it would not allow the EAC to hire its own counsel.  

McCormick also informed the judge that she believed DOJ was not fulfilling its duty and obligation to defend the EAC and had a potential conflict of interest. 

It was clear that Judge Leon was shocked at what DOJ had done reported von Spakovsky. He also said almost immediately that he would not grant a PI without a complete briefing and arguments on the case — despite DOJ wanting to consent to the PI.  

Fortunately, in act of integrity Judge Leon made clear that there was “no chance at all — zero” that he would do what the plaintiffs and the Justice Department wanted him to do on that issue. 

Hans von Spakovsky reported that Judge Leon was obviously annoyed at the plaintiff’s lawyer’s inability to answer some of his questions, saying “I gave you the weekend to get ready for this — what have you been doing?” 

Judge Leon talked about all of the cases in which the Federal Programs Branch has been involved in his courtroom, and said he had never seen the type of incomplete brief that DOJ had filed in this case. He said that those briefs “usually cover the waterfront” in terms of raising every legal argument to defend an agency. Leon was very dismissive of the DOJ’s position, its behavior, and its failure to mount a defense consistent with its usual practice. 

According to von Spakovsky’s reporting for NRO, the plaintiffs’ lawyer was stumped by the judge on several occasions. One example: Judge Leon asked about the requirements for voting in the upcoming primaries in Georgia, Alabama, and Kansas. The lawyer, who was there supposedly representing voters in those states, didn’t know the basics about whether those elections were open primaries or caucuses or whether you have to register by party in those states in order to be able to vote. 

Secretary of State Kobach did a much better job than the plaintiffs in explaining why the plaintiffs had not met the standards for the issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order says von Spakovsky. Kobach pointed out the many errors and mistakes made by the plaintiffs’ lawyer. And he laid out the evidence of noncitizens registering and voting in Kansas — which is why this proof-of-citizenship law is needed. 

The battle to protect the integrity of the vote for the 2016 election is far from over; Judge Leon ended the hearing by saying that he would announce his decision on the Temporary Restraining Order today (February 23, 2016) according to von Spakovsky.  

With regard to the Preliminary Injunction, von Spakovsky reports Judge Leon set a hearing date for March 9, and left the record open for supplemental pleadings to be filed. He also told the lawyers that they could file requests for limited discovery if they felt it was needed.  

Hans von Spakovsky says the DOJ will probably try to avoid that because he’s sure they don’t want any discovery that could lead to more information being disclosed about their interference in the internal workings of what is supposed to be an independent, bi-partisan agency — the Election Assistance Commission. 

As Rick Manning said last week when word of this outrage began to filter out, and we agree wholeheartedly, "Americans expect that only those eligible to exercise the right to vote will be participating in our 2016 national elections, yet the Obama Administration's lackeys at Attorney General Loretta Lynch's Justice Department are doing everything in their power to allow their new illegal alien power base to vote.” 

This week constitutional liberty hangs in the balance in an obscure courtroom in Washington, and the only things standing between the Left’s plan to guarantee victory for the Democratic candidate for President by stealing the 2016 election with non-citizen votes are the integrity of District of Columbia federal district court Judge Richard J. Leon, and the extraordinary efforts of Kris Kobach, the Secretary of State of Kansas and attorney J. Christian Adams of the Public Interest Legal Foundation. 

We urge conservatives to support the Public Interest Legal Foundation and Secretary of State of Kansas Kris Kobach in this existential battle to preserve constitutional liberty.