The announcement itself was also unusual; Mr. Freed’s office deleted the news release from its website, positing a revised version. Mr. Trump has made false claims about fraudulent voting a central message in his re-election campaign. The disclosure on Thursday provided the president and his allies with a new angle to attack mail-in voting: a conspiracy against his own voters. Freed released the statement, the White House and Mr. Trump’s campaign cited the investigation in Pennsylvania as an example of the problems with mail-in voting. His criticisms, coupled with the rhetoric from Mr. Trump and his allies, have unnerved Democrats who fear that the Trump administration could seek to undermine or even disrupt the election in November.

Source: New York Times September 25, 2020 00:22 UTC