Homeland Secretary to States: "Obey Or Else" As Trump Threatens Broadcast Networks

Criminal-charge letters went to all fifty states. Election chiefs call the claims "bull****." Trump wants ABC and NBC's licenses.

The Department of Homeland Security put states' disaster relief on the table Friday to force compliance with Donald Trump's election demands. Secretary Mullin threatened to withhold Federal Emergency Management Agency grants from states that refuse the administration's election "security" measures — "If they're not willing to do it, it should raise serious questions," he said. "It's not that hard. This isn't a partisan issue."

The threat travels with a second one. The Justice Department has sent letters to election officials in every state warning of potential criminal charges if noncitizens vote. And the administration has run this play before: the federal government demanded states' voter rolls — the personal data of millions of Americans — and when states refused, it sued. It lost.