President Donald Trump acknowledged on June 23 that he called a federal prosecutor in California and asked him to probe the state’s primary election results, claiming without evidence that his intervention secured a Trump-endorsed candidate’s advancement to the general election.
“I called up the very powerful, very good U.S. attorney in California. I said, ‘Do me a favor. Take a look,'” Trump said at a rally in Macungie, Pennsylvania. Trump asserted that about an hour after his call, Trump-backed Republican Steve Hilton had won the race, adding, “Had I not made that call, Steve Hilton would be watching the election from home.”
The president was referring to Bill Essayli, the First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. Essayli announced on June 5 that his office was conducting “multiple election fraud investigations” into California’s primary, which took place on June 2. Trump had made baseless claims of fraud in California’s gubernatorial race after early results showed Democrat Xavier Becerra leading.
It was not previously known that Trump had personally directed the investigations. Trump’s public acknowledgment marks the clearest evidence to date of him using the Justice Department to intervene in elections based on unsubstantiated fraud claims, according to reporting from Democracy Docket.
Trump falsely claimed that Hilton’s advancement was solely the result of Essayli’s probe. In reality, Hilton finished second in California’s jungle primary system—in which the top two candidates of any party advance to the general election—as more votes were counted over several days after election day. Early results do not determine final outcomes. Hilton will now face Becerra, the former Biden administration official, in the November general election.
Hilton himself has disputed Trump’s narrative. In a CNN interview, the conservative author and former Fox News host said his campaign had found no evidence of fraud and stated that he trusts Essayli to investigate any legitimate wrongdoing. “We’ve seen nothing that would give us cause to intervene in that way,” Hilton said, noting that Essayli “is taking a look at it, and I trust that if there is anything that needs to be investigated, that he will make sure it happens.”
Trump’s admission comes as his administration has pursued multiple election-related investigations across states. California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, has rebutted Trump’s fraud claims as baseless, and election experts have warned that Trump and GOP falsehoods about California’s vote counting could serve as a blueprint for undermining the midterm elections later in 2026.
Sources
- Politico — Trump’s direct acknowledgment of calling the U.S. attorney and his claims about Hilton’s advancement, June 23, 2026
- Democracy Docket — Trump’s full statement at the Pennsylvania rally, the context of his DOJ involvement, and expert analysis on election interference, June 23, 2026
- The Washington Post — Essayli’s announcement of multiple election fraud investigations, June 5-6, 2026
- NBC News — Details on the federal investigations and their timing relative to Trump’s claims, June 5, 2026
- CNN — Hilton’s denial of fraud and his trust in Essayli’s oversight, June 9, 2026
- CalMatters — Confirmation of Hilton and Becerra’s advancement to the November general election, June 9, 2026
