Rep. Goldman slams Republicans for ‘fearmongering’ about election fraud

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) on Sunday knocked Republicans for what he called “fearmongering” about election fraud, arguing it is part of a larger pressure campaign to suppress the vote as the November election quickly approaches.

Goldman, speaking on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday,” was asked about the possibility of foreign interference in this election and the comments of Republican National Committee co-Chair Lara Trump, who spoke earlier in the show.

“She didn’t really address it. She continues to perpetuate this completely bogus notion that has no evidence to support it, that there are noncitizens who vote in this country,” he told NewsNation anchor Chris Stirewalt. “This is the Republicans’ way of fearmongering and scaring people into suppressing the vote, which Texas is doing outright and openly right now.”

Goldman, who sits on the House committees on Oversight and Accountability and Homeland Security, was referring to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s (R) probe and efforts to prevent widespread voting by noncitizens. Numerous studies have found that noncitizens virtually never vote.

Earlier on the show, Lara Trump spoke about her concerns regarding election integrity: “We the people of this country, are the only ones who should have that opportunity [to vote]. And I think it’s always concerning to see these sorts of things,” she said, before pointing to the Hunter Biden laptop scandal and Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The comments come days after the Justice Department released findings last week about Russia’s covert efforts to influence the 2024 U.S. elections. The department announced last week that it had seized 32 web domains Russia had used for its influence campaigns.

The Justice Department seized web domains and targeted two employees of RT, formerly known as Russia Today, a Russian state media outlet with content available in English, charging the duo with violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The indictment accuses the two of partnering with a conservative-leaning media company to help sow division in the U.S.

“The reality is that Russia is trying to interfere in our election, as it did in 2016 for the benefit of Donald Trump, which was welcomed by Donald Trump, as it did in 2020 when it tried but did not, was less successful,” Goldman claimed. “The entire Republican structure, their political structure, is trying to allow Russia to interfere in our election.”

The Hill reached out to the Trump campaign for further comment.

Trump on Saturday dismissed the Justice Department’s findings and joked about whether he should be offended that Russian President Vladimir Putin had offered a tongue-in-cheek endorsement of Vice President Harris.

“Three days ago, it started again. The Justice Department said Russia may be involved in our elections again,” Trump said. “Russia. It’s Russia. And you know the whole world laughed at them this time.

“They said just the other day, the attorney general, ‘We are looking at Russia.’ And I said oh no. It’s Russia, Russia, Russia all over again,” Trump said, referring to the investigation into his 2016 campaign by special counsel Robert Mueller. “But they don’t look at China and they don’t look at Iran. I don’t know what it is with poor Russia.”

The Biden administration condemned Russian efforts to influence the 2024 U.S. election last week.

Trump has in the past cast doubt on the intelligence community’s findings that Russia was attempting to influence U.S. elections, including during a meeting he had alongside Putin in 2018.

The intelligence community determined Russia attempted to influence the 2016 election, which Trump won, and the Justice Department investigated the Trump campaign for possible coordination with Moscow. The final special counsel report found no evidence of collusion.

NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.

The Hill’s Brett Samuels contributed reporting.