NC’s US Attorney Dan Bishop tasked with probing election fraud, WSJ reports

North Carolina-based U.S. Attorney Dan Bishop is tasked with investigating election-related inquiries across the country and reviewing voter roll data collected by the Justice Department from various states, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

WSJ learned about Bishop’s new assignment after reviewing an order signed last week by Attorney General Pam Bondi. Bondi did not publicize her directive to Bishop.

Bishop’s new role was reported less than 24 hours after Trump signed an executive order to create a nationwide list of citizens eligible to vote and to restrict mail-in voting. Whether the order can pass constitutional scrutiny remains questionable.

All of this is part of a broader push by the Trump administration to advance false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election and to seek congressional approval to create a federal law requiring proof of citizenship to vote. It is illegal in the United States for non-citizens to vote, however, the proof that would be required under this legislation is written in a way that it could disenfranchise American citizens.

President Donald Trump has alleged voter fraud in every election since 2016, which he won. Trump claimed his victory margin would have been larger if not for voter fraud, an allegation that has been repeatedly disproven. Extensive studies have shown that incidents of voter fraud are incredibly rare. The Brennan Center for Justice reported incident rates between .0003% and .0025%.

Despite that, DOJ requested the voter rolls from 48 states and Washington, D.C. North Carolina and North Dakota remain the only states that have not been asked for the information.

North Carolina Democrats believe a settlement by the Republican-led North Carolina Board of Elections to come into compliance with the Help America Vote Act gives DOJ access to the state’s voter rolls.

Bishop’s directive by Bondi, according to WSJ’s reporting, is to find noncitizens who registered to vote or cast ballots.

Bishop has a curious history with voter fraud. He helped promote Trump’s false claims of voter fraud, but also downplayed a legitimate case of voter fraud by his own party that unintentionally launched his congressional career.

Bishop was among the members of the U.S. House who on Jan. 6, 2021, voted against the certification of President Joe Biden.

Biden defeated Trump 51%-47%.

Trump allies immediately began pushing a false claim about voter fraud and that Trump’s election was stolen by Democrats. North Carolina native Sidney Powell, an attorney, helped carve out the idea to push voter fraud claims. Court documents revealed that Trump told his staff Powell’s ideas were “crazy,” but he would publicly repeat them as true.

Bishop helped propel those claims forward.

He accused Democrats of weakening ballot security, undermining the positive identification of voters and providing opportunities for post-election ballot-box stuffing, in a news release reported by NC Newsline.

Bishop also accused Anson County election officials of improper conduct when supporters of Dannie Montgomery, a Democrat running for Register of Deeds, brought people into the voting booth and pressured them to vote for Montgomery. While wrong, the action was not done by election officials, but Bishop repeated that allegation multiple times, Politifact reported.

Once Trump secured the 2020 presidential nomination from North Carolina, Bishop refocused his allegations of voter fraud in other states.

But it was a 2018 election fraud scandal by Republicans that allowed Bishop to represent North Carolina’s Charlotte-area congressional district in the first place.

In 2018, Rep. Mark Harris first ran for Congress, and won.

But then it was discovered that one of his campaign operatives, McCrae Dowless, directed Harris campaign staffers to illegally sign absentee ballots claiming they had witnessed voters casting their ballots and then mailed those ballots in on the voters’ behalf, which is illegal.

After an investigation, Harris’ election was overturned by the State Board of Elections and Dowless was charged with felonies. He died before the conclusion of his criminal case. Others on the campaign faced misdemeanor charges.

At the time, Harris called for a new election and withdrew his candidacy. His son testified that he warned Harris of the tactics being used.

Harris would later accuse Democrats of stealing his election.

Bishop went on to win the seat instead of Harris.

In 2024, when Bishop ran unsuccessfully for attorney general, he called the incident with Harris “some fairly minor illegal ballot harvesting,” The Guardian reported.

Bishop’s retirement from Congress allowed Harris to run again and succeed Bishop after the 2024 election.

Bishop went on to serve as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, after being nominated by Trump and receiving Senate approval.

In November, Bishop announced his plans to leave Washington, and the Department of Justice named him interim U.S. Attorney for the Middle District.

The Middle District is made up of 24 counties in central North Carolina with federal courthouses located in Durham and Greensboro.

Bishop is awaiting a Senate floor vote to finalize his nomination by Trump for the role.

This story was originally published April 1, 2026 at 4:40 PM.

Danielle Battaglia

McClatchy DC

Danielle Battaglia is the congressional impact reporter for The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer, leading coverage of the impact of North Carolina’s congressional delegation and the White House. Her career has spanned three North Carolina newsrooms where she has covered crime, courts and local, state and national politics. She has won two McClatchy President’s awards and numerous national and state awards for her work.