President Donald Trump’s Justice Department will likely find numerous offenses to warrant launching a broad investigation into voter fraud, legal experts and watchdog groups say.

Trump has said that more than 3 million to 5 million illegal votes were cast during the 2016 election, causing him to receive a lower popular vote total than his vanquished opponent, Hillary Clinton, whom he defeated in the Electoral College.

On Wednesday, Trump said:

I will be asking for a major investigation into VOTER FRAUD, including those registered to vote in two states, those who are illegal and….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 25, 2017

even, those registered to vote who are dead (and many for a long time). Depending on results, we will strengthen up voting procedures!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 25, 2017

One legal organization took action on preventing voter fraud this week. The Public Interest Legal Foundation, a voter integrity group, reached a consent decree with Noxubee County, Mississippi, which has had voter registration that exceeds the number of county residents since 2011, according to the group. A consent decree is a legal agreement between two parties without an acknowledgment of guilt.

The decree includes requiring the county to identify dead voters on the rolls, clear voter rolls of former county residents, and mail all registered voters who have been inactive since January 2011.

The Public Interest Legal Foundation this week is also seeking to pry the release of information about noncitizens registered to vote in Manassas, Virginia.

Logan Churchwell, spokesman for the Public Interest Legal Foundation, said it is good that the Justice Department won’t just leave it to the nonprofit groups to weed out fraud.

“We need to know how many noncitizens are voting and know the unknowns,” Churchwell told The Daily Signal. “Trump could just enforce the law. The giant research project he tweeted about, or had a series of tweets about, is worthwhile and only something the federal government could do.”

It’s likely that 800,000 noncitizens illegally voted in the last presidential election, according to Jesse Richman, an associate professor of political science at Old Dominion University, who extrapolated on a 2014 study that examined illegal voting in the 2008 and 2010 elections.

Before the 2016 election, there were several documented cases of voter fraud. These included an FBI probe that found 19 dead people were registered to vote in Harrisonburg, Virginia; a woman arrested in Des Moines, Iowa, for voting twice for Trump; and a CBS News investigation that found multiple cases of dead voters and double voting in Colorado.

Churchwell asserted Trump’s 3 million or more projection couldn’t be proven or disproven, but regardless of whether this is an overstatement, President Barack Obama’s Justice Department ignored Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act, better known as the “motor voter” law. This provision requires local governments to maintain and keep voter rolls current.

The Obama administration has not enforced this provision of the motor voter law, and in Florida, Wisconsin, and Ohio, even took action to prevent maintaining the voter registration rolls.

Still others, such as Michael Waldman, president of the Brennan Center for Justice, a liberal legal group at the New York University School of Law, insisted voter fraud is a myth and opposed an investigation.

“An expensive investigation of imaginary voter fraud is not needed. It could easily devolve into a witch hunt,” Waldman said in a public statement. “Worse, it could be used to justify sweeping voting restrictions. There is no need for another investigation that is not independent, rigorous, and fact-based.”

Waldman continued:

There is a great deal of evidence that our voting system locks out far too many eligible citizens from voting. The voter registration system needs an upgrade, and that is something that should unite all Americans. Errors on the voter rolls are emphatically not signs of fraud—they are signs that we need to improve the system.

An investigation into voter fraud would not be complicated, said Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, a government watchdog group.

“You can see the numbers we are talking about by looking at public voter registration lists and cross-checking that against a list of noncitizens,” Fitton told The Daily Signal. “The federal government could coordinate with state and local governments and determine who registered to vote illegally. It’s a simple process. That’s why the left is so upset. They know the jig is up.”

Enforcing the law is long overdue, said Hans von Spakovsky, manager of the Election Law Reform Initiative at The Heritage Foundation.

“We don’t need [to create] a commission. The Justice Department can enforce the law and work with the Department of Homeland Security, and its records for citizenship and change of status to get an idea of who is illegally registered to vote,” von Spakovsky told The Daily Signal.

Regardless of the investigation’s outcome, von Spakovsky expects critics will dismiss anything that falls short of Trump’s 3 to 5 million illegal voter estimate.

“They may try to dismiss this, but the American people don’t believe what the media say about voter fraud not being real,” von Spakovsky said. “Polling solidifies that.” (For more from the author of “Trump DOJ Likely to Find Many Offenses in Voter Fraud Probe, Experts Say” please click HERE)

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Early Inaugural morning, I was privileged to take part in a private church service with the incoming President and Vice-President and their families. Donald Trump had personally and graciously asked me to pray over him. It was not only my honor as a citizen, but is fully in keeping with Scripture’s command to pray and intercede “for kings and all who are in high positions.” (1 Timothy 2:1-3 NRSV)

I want to share with you the words God placed on our hearts to impart on our new leader.

Our Introduction

What a beautiful sight! (To President Trump) Do you mind standing?

What a beautiful family! … I honestly believe, I remember Eric saying to me the first time we met, “He’s a great father.” (To Eric) You said, “We’re going to win this thing!” Eric, you talked about winning it for us, for America, for the sake of freedom. Galatians 5:1 says, “It’s for freedom Christ set us free.” That freedom, true freedom, was purchased at a great price. It’s been protected at a great price. And it will continue to be with great leadership.

(To Donald Trump) The first time you and I talked, I shared with you something I thought was very helpful — and knowing you and watching you, sometimes you would wonder if there is any way possible. I said, “Let me talk with you about humility and meekness, with the emphasis on meekness. It’s not weakness.” I said, “It’s taking great power and submitting it with the kind of biblical direction that enables it to fulfill what its strength enables it to do.” I used two examples of meekness: Billy Graham and Ronald Reagan. I said, “These two men have submitted as deeply as any people I’ve had the opportunity to observe up close to the wisdom that enabled them to do great things that benefited all the people and extended the right for freedom.”

I said, “It’s like taking the power of a thoroughbred like Secretariat and yielding it to the wisdom and guidance of a 100-pound jockey.” I said, “Sir, the meekness that God has given you is as great as any I have ever witnessed — and ability to move and motivate people that is nothing short of a divine, supernatural enabling.” I said, “Sir, if you yield the gifts of God and the strength that He put in you, not for your purposes but for His kingdom purpose, you’ll win a triple crown. You’ll win an election and you’ll save the day, even the future of freedom, and restore the foundation and the walls essential to protect it.”

I have had the joy — and I want to thank you for this joy. I’ve never been treated in 55 years of public ministry with greater honor, respect, sincere appreciation and gratitude, and joining me seeking God in prayer. Sir, you have been amazing to be with. To God be the glory! It is an answer to a lot of the prayers of the people here and around the world. You are in fact an answer to prayer. Seventy-three years I’ve been in this life, and the greatest Cabinet I’ve ever seen is seated right here. I think you have been designed and gifted by God for this moment. If you, too, together will submit to the wisdom God freely offers, it is going to be an amazing journey. I compliment your family. I want to say this to you, the family: Will all of you join me praying from now on that we will someday hear it said in the church, the family of God, what a beautiful family, what an awesome family!

Our Prayer

Father, I pray for President-elect Donald Trump.

Thank you for his beautiful family, for a beautiful First Lady. Thank you for the wisdom that was manifested when he began with the choice of Gov. Mike Pence, now our Vice President-elect, and his wife and family, and this Cabinet is amazing.

Father, I ask you to pour out your wisdom. Let it flow like a river, and let everyone around him receive that wisdom and encourage him. We stand against the forces of distraction, dissension and division that would in any way keep people from hearing the transforming truth of your Word. God, we’re asking you to pour out Your love, Your compassion, and give us Your courage, Your boldness, that we may fulfill Your will on this earth.

We believe, dear God, that the stage is set for the next great spiritual awakening, and I believe with all my heart it is absolutely essential. I want to thank you from the depth of my heart for giving us a leader who is fearless, who is tireless, who is committed and who has so obviously, by his very manner and the way he treats people and expresses appreciation for them, and the way he has forgiven those who have been unkind, and even given them an opportunity to serve.

God, I want to thank you that we have seen the transformation of his own heart and mind in his actions. I pray, dear God, that those actions would continue to always speak louder than words.

God, pour out your love on our nation and pour out your love through our nation. We not only want you to bless America, but God, we want America to bless You by blessing the people around the world that You love so deeply.

Thank you for this moment.

I ask you to build a hedge of protection around the President and Vice President, their families, the Cabinet, our national leadership. And God, would you heal the division in our Congress, and Lord, would you heal the division that has been in Your church too long? And let us see this miracle awakening. And we will give you the glory, praise and thanksgiving, forever and ever.

Our Prayers Continue

Prayers for President Trump cannot end with his Inauguration. With celebrities publicly dreaming of “blowing up the White House,” former Clinton spokesmen quoting the assassin John Wilkes Booth’s “sic semper tyrannis,” and so much anger in the streets, prayers of protection for the President, his family and our nation must continue without ceasing.

On a more hopeful note, we must also continue to pray that those in the White House will listen to our Heavenly Father as they go about their daily business on our behalf.

As I told President Trump, Vice-President Pence and their cabinet Friday morning, “If you together will submit to the wisdom God freely offers, it is going to be an amazing journey.” (For more from the author of “My Message and Prayer for the President” please click HERE)

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The White House seemed less than enthusiastic about one Senate Republican plan that would allow states to keep Obamacare, stressing President Donald Trump’s opposition to mandates that drive down competition.

On Monday, four Republican senators released the text of the Patient Freedom Act of 2017 to replace the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. The bill calls for repealing the mandates but would allow states to choose to maintain the mandates, according to the bill’s summary.

The Daily Signal asked Tuesday if this legislation could fall short of Trump’s pledge during the campaign to repeal the law in its entirety.

“First and foremost, let’s get back to what his goal is: We are working with Congress, some of those conversations started last night, staff has been working on a plan to repeal and replace [Obamacare],” White House press secretary Sean Spicer told The Daily Signal during the press briefing. “His goal, first and foremost, is to make sure we give the American people a health care system that is affordable, more accessible, more doctors and more plans.”

With regards to states, Spicer focused on Trump’s opposition to mandates—which could still be in place under this particular GOP Senate proposal.

“How a state chooses to implement that — what I think right now is the idea that we’ve had these mandates requiring people to get things that has driven out competition and driven up costs, is not a health care system he is pleased with and wants to support the repeal of,” Spicer added.

Four senators who are considered centrist or liberal Republicans are the sponsors of the bill: Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, and Johnny Isakson of Georgia.

The bill summary says: “Option 1 allows the State to reinstate Title I of the ACA [Affordable Care Act], including its mandates and other requirements.”

In a Senate floor speech, Collins suggested states would opt against it:

Option one would allow a state to choose to continue operating insurance markets pursuant to all the rules of the Affordable Care Act … More appealing to many states, however, would be what we call the ‘better choice’ option in the Patient Freedom Act that would allow a state to waive many of the requirements of the Affordable Care Act except for vital consumer protections and still receive federal funding to help its residents purchase affordable health insurance.

(For more from the author of “White House: Centrist GOP Senators’ Obamacare Plan at Odds with Trump’s Vision” please click HERE)

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President Donald Trump on “Day One” of his presidency signed an executive order restoring the so-called “Mexico City Policy,” which requires all foreign non-governmental organizations that receive federal funding to refrain from performing or promoting abortion services.

Ronald Reagan first established the broader policy 33 years ago, which built on a 50-year-old law banning USAID from providing funds to any nongovernmental organization providing a number of services — including abortion.

Called the “global gag rule” by critics, the policy has been lifted or reinstated by presidents since Reagan, depending on whether the president was a Republican or a Democrat. Bill Clinton lifted the policy in 1993, George W. Bush reinstated in 2001 and Barack Obama pulled it during his first term as president.

Under the policy, International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) will lose federal funding. Alison Marshall, the director of advocacy for IPPF, estimates that the abortion organization will lose approximately $100 million over a period of two to three years.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), the only woman remaining on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said she has a legislative plan in place now that President Trump moved forward with restoring the policy. Shaheen is also worried that President Trump will gut gender equality programs, among other “liberal social policies.” Calling the move to reinstate the Mexico City policy “short-sighted,” Shaheen said that “Abolishing those programs is antithetical here in our democracy.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said that it was “time to take a hard look at women’s aid programs,” reported Foreign Policy. “The State Department is trying to basically get countries who receive foreign assistance to sign up for a liberal agenda,” said Graham. He added that under the Obama administration, “It’s been out of control.”

In addition to his action on the Mexico City Policy, President Trump signed executive orders withdrawing the U.S. from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and freezing federal workforce hiring. President Trump exempted the military from the hiring freeze. (For more from the author of “Trump Signs ‘Mexico City Policy’ Banning Foreign Aid-Supported Abortions” please click HERE)

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