Kurt Olsen, who aided efforts to overturn the 2020 election, has joined the Justice Department as a senior attorney in Florida. He will report to prosecutors examining whether past investigations of Donald Trump constituted a criminal conspiracy.
The appointment of an election denier to a sensitive role within the Justice Department raises concerns about the impartiality of investigations into former President Trump and the potential politicization of the department.
Kurt Olsen, a former White House official who assisted in efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, has joined the Justice Department as a senior attorney. He began his role in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida on Monday. Olsen will report to prosecutors examining whether previous investigations into Donald Trump constituted a criminal conspiracy against him. This effort is overseen by Joe diGenova, a Trump ally serving as a counselor to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and leading a new civil rights unit in the Miami office. Olsen, who has no prior prosecutorial experience, was previously sanctioned by a federal court for making false statements while representing Kari Lake in a case challenging Arizona's voting procedures. Olsen had been leading the Trump administration's election integrity efforts, investigating disproven vote-rigging theories, including the claim that Venezuelan operatives infiltrated Dominion voting machines. The Florida team's investigation also includes earlier probes into Trump, such as the Russia investigation and the FBI's search of Mar-a-Lago. This initiative is part of a broader Justice Department effort under Trump to pursue his grievances and political opponents.