Attorney General Dan Rayfield and 21 other attorneys general today denounced the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) latest attempt to coerce the State of Minnesota. In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, the coalition condemned the Trump administration’s effort to exploit the situation in Minnesota to pressure state leaders into turning over sensitive resident data and dismantling longstanding public safety policies. The attorneys general warn that these threats likely conflict with ongoing litigation and court-ordered protections.
“This goes to show that Trump administration will do whatever it can to get its hands on sensitive voter information,” said Attorney General Rayfield. “Just last week, the judge in Oregon’s case learned about Attorney General Bondi’s letter and was so alarmed that he immediately convened a hearing to demand the Administration explain its motives. The judge rightly dismissed the federal lawsuit seeking our state’s unredacted voter rolls. No state – whether it’s Oregon or Minnesota – should be strong-armed into handing over private data.”
Notably, this letter is being sent a day after the FBI searched the elections office in Fulton County, Georgia, which has been a central focus for President Trump’s baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him. Attorney General Rayfield and the coalition sent today’s letter in response to Attorney General Bondi’s January 24 letter to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, which accused the state of enabling widespread fraud and demanded a series of actions in exchange for the withdrawal of federal agents from Minnesota. The demands included requests that Minnesota turn over sensitive Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) data, dismantle critical local public safety policies, and grant the federal government access to Minnesota voter information.
The attorneys general warn that Attorney General Bondi’s letter threatens the constitutional balance of power between the states and the federal government. They assert that the demands intrude on state sovereignty and are intended to coerce the state of Minnesota. With so many of DOJ’s actions already blocked by courts across the country, the attorneys general argue that the administration is attempting to force an outcome that it could not achieve through the courts.
Attorney General Rayfield and the coalition make clear that their states will continue to stand firm against unlawful federal interference and will defend both state sovereignty and the rights of their residents. The coalition urges the administration to end its dangerous and unlawful campaign against Minnesota immediately and stand down on its alarming demands.
Joining Attorney General Rayfield in sending this letter are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.
