Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R) said Wednesday that he advised President Donald Trump to pursue an investigation into his unsubstantiated claims of massive election fraud and played a role in writing executive orders on immigration policy.
“I’ve advised him on the issue of voter fraud in multiple forms,” Kobach said as quoted by the Wichita Eagle. “I’m not the only one, but he’s been very interested in finding ways to reduce voter fraud.”
Kobach said that Trump “is interested in investigating the issue on a national scale,” but also wants to see “specific investigations” by the Justice Department in cases with “real serious, specific evidence.”
He cited the Bush administration’s voter fraud crackdown, which found “virtually no evidence” of any such organized activities according to a 2007 report by the New York Times. Kobach worked in the Department of Justice during the first term of President George W. Bush’s administration.
“The Obama administration all but ended federal efforts to go after voter fraud,” Kobach said per the report. “So it’s entirely appropriate for the Trump Justice Department to restart federal investigations.”
He also said that he played a role in writing executive orders on immigration, according to the Wichita Eagle’s report.
Kobach has a long history of pushing for tougher measures targeting undocumented immigrants and for voting regulations that restrict access to the ballot. As Kansas Secretary of State, he aggressively pursued prosecutions of alleged instances of voter fraud, an occurrence which is in fact incredibly rare.
Just after Trump’s 2016 election victory, Kobach said he was officially named to serve on Trump’s immigration team, where he said he would have “a lot to do.”
Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday morning to boost border patrol forces, cut funding for “sanctuary cities” and increase the number of immigration enforcement officials who carry out deportations.
