Political commentator and journalist Benny Johnson reports on a major voter fraud investigation conducted by James O’Keefe in California that has prompted unprecedented responses from state and federal authorities. According to Johnson, O’Keefe has captured alleged federal crimes on video showing cash payments being made to homeless individuals in exchange for voter registrations.
Johnson states that the investigation centers on Los Angeles’ Skid Row area, where O’Keefe and other citizen journalists have documented what appears to be systematic voter registration fraud. “In this video, we captured it 28 times over the course of a few days,” Johnson reports O’Keefe saying about the alleged cash-for-registration scheme. Johnson emphasizes that this means “it’s happening tens if not hundreds of thousands of times.”
The investigation reportedly reveals connections to nonprofit organizations operating in the homeless services sector. Johnson mentions that Wine Guard, one of the NGOs involved, receives “$800 million” in funding. During the investigation, Johnson describes an incident where he was “pretending to be a homeless person” when someone from Wine Guard wearing “his little blue NGO vest” allegedly impersonated police, saying “I’m with the LAPD. Get out of here.”
Johnson reports that the evidence has prompted extraordinary responses from California officials. According to Johnson, Governor Gavin Newsom issued a statement saying: “The alleged activity is a felony in California. Anybody caught engaging in this activity is investigated and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.” Johnson characterizes this as “Gavin Newsome backing up James O’Keefe,” suggesting the governor is “beating him into submission” due to the compelling nature of the video evidence.
Federal authorities have also reportedly taken notice. Johnson states that the United States Attorney for California has assured “we will aggressively pursue this anyone violating federal law and they’re in the process of interviewing our journalists right now.” Additionally, Johnson reports that “the Los Angeles District Attorney has reached out to us and is coordinating with us to prosecute these people.”
The investigation allegedly extends beyond simple cash payments. Johnson reveals that upcoming evidence will show even more serious violations: “There was a citizen in San Francisco that you they actually gave the names of voters for them to vote in their names.” He describes this as involving “multiple federal crimes, multiple state crimes” where “petitioners were giving the homeless names to vote in the name of.”
Johnson emphasizes the significance of having video evidence rather than circumstantial claims. “It’s a federal crime to pay someone to register them to vote. You can’t give them drugs, cigarettes, or money,” Johnson explains, noting that while this has been discussed before, “I don’t think this has ever been actually captured on video.”
The investigation is part of what Johnson calls a “Justice League” of citizen journalists, including Anthony Rubin, Cam Higby, Savannah Hernandez, and Nick Shirley. Johnson reports O’Keefe’s commitment to accountability: “I’m going to release one video a day showing an illegal federal and state crime until somebody gets arrested.”
Johnson connects this investigation to broader concerns about California’s homeless policies, referencing his own previous reporting that exposed how “billions of dollars that they’re spending is actually creating as many homeless people as humanly possible.” He suggests this is part of efforts to “rig the electoral college because they count the census counts numbers of peoples in districts and you know not citizens” and to enable “very quick election mechanisms that they can rig.”
The California Secretary of State has reportedly reached out wanting to “speak to my reporters and my attorney,” according to Johnson’s reporting. This multi-agency response to the investigation represents what Johnson characterizes as a potential breakthrough in documenting and prosecuting alleged voter fraud that has previously remained theoretical or circumstantial.
Key Facts — All Alleged
| |
|---|
| Who | James O’Keefe, Wine Guard NGO, Governor Gavin Newsom, U.S. Attorney for California, Los Angeles District Attorney, California Secretary of State |
| Amount | $800 million |
| Location | Los Angeles, California (Skid Row) |
| Program | Not specified |
| Status | Alleged |
In Benny Johnson’s Words
“In this video, we captured it 28 times over the course of a few days. that means it’s happening tens if not hundreds of thousands of times.”
— Benny Johnson
“They $800 million. It’s it’s wild.”
— Benny Johnson
“I’m going to release one video a day showing an illegal federal and state crime until somebody gets arrested.”
— Benny Johnson
Take Action
Contact your representative about voter registration fraud fraud in California.
American taxpayers deserve accountability. If this investigation concerns you, make your voice heard.
Sample Letter to Your Representative
Dear [Representative Name],
I am writing as a concerned taxpayer regarding alleged voter registration fraud fraud in California. Recent independent investigations have brought to light troubling patterns of waste and abuse involving taxpayer-funded programs.
I urge your office to:
- Investigate the allegations of voter registration fraud fraud documented in this and related reports
- Support stronger oversight and accountability measures for federal and state funding
- Ensure that taxpayer dollars are protected from fraud, waste, and abuse
- Provide transparency on how these programs are being monitored
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
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Full Transcript
Auto-generated transcript. May contain errors.
Every day we’re going to release a video until somebody is arrested. I’m not exaggerating. And I like how you highlighted that the the the Governor Nuome’s statement is actually positive towards me because they said, “We need to arrest people.” What What do you think about that? » I can’t believe it. I’ve never seen anything like it. Every single time you do one of these reports, Nick Shirley was just on like the governor’s attacking him, the the governor attacks me, right, when we go out there. And I think we’re actually beating him into submission. I think that’s what’s actually happening here. They’re realizing that it’s untenable. And here’s Gavin Newsome’s statement. If you don’t mind, I’m just going to read it really quickly here. The alleged activity is a felony in California. Anybody caught engaging in this activity is investigated and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Wait a second. Gavin Newsome is backing up James O’Keefe. » I I think it’s, if I may, I think there’s a reason why here, and you saw it in Cam Higgub’s reporting in ours, you actually see the cash money given to the the homeless person. Most people talk about stuff, and it’s great stuff. they talk about and it’s great, but in this video it’s a your audience may not know this. It’s a federal crime to pay someone to register them to vote. You can’t give them drugs, cigarettes, or money. And I don’t think this has ever been actually captured on video. There’s one one instance in 2019 where the LAA prosecuted, but there was no videotapes. But in this video, we captured it 28 times over the course of a few days. that means it’s happening tens if not hundreds of thousands of times. So they’re like, “Whoa.” And you know, and and and and Cam Higgy’s video showed the same thing. Anthony Rubin’s video is about to show the same thing. I think Savannah Hernandez is doing something on this. I think there’s more citizen journalists. There it is. The Cash Money. You can see it right there. It’s rare that you actually capture the crime on video where it’s not circumstantial evidence. It’s not hearsay. So I also Benny have a statement from the United States attorney in California. It’s a chief federal prosecutor. This is the Department of Justice. Um saying I want to assure now remember the DOJ can’t talk about what they’re doing usually, but this is Billy a quote. I want to assure that we will aggressively pursue this anyone violating federal law and they’re in the process of interviewing our our our journalists right now. » Uh we have the tweet. We’ll pop it up in just one moment. We actually have it in our show notes. Uh this is this is uh uh yes uh Los Angeles District Attorney. Oh no, this is the district attorney spokesperson, but uh yeah, Billy is the federal uh attorney, » correct? » For Los Angeles, and he posted this on X. » It’s in the show notes, Danny, from yesterday. Uh okay, so we went there. We went to California at the in the uh January and we exposed the homeless industrial complex for creating more homeless people. And I know it seems I know it seemed a little crazy at the time because it’s such a seems like such a perverse incentive and such the inverse of what anybody would want who wants more homeless people. But when we were out in California and every single data and metric James shows that the billions of dollars that they’re spending is actually creating as many homeless people as humanly possible and then pushing them into these small compact distilled areas. And we said the reason they’re doing this is clearly because they need one to rig the electoral college because they count the census counts numbers of peoples in districts and you know not citizens. Uh, and then two, this allows them to have very quick election mechanisms that they can rig, whether it’s voter fraud, and we exposed toilets that had registered voters at it. We found a toilet that had 30 registered people at it. Um, or ballot initiatives, but we didn’t catch it on camera. Uh, we didn’t catch it on camera. What you’ve done here is complete the circle. You’re exactly right. This is why it’s so profound because like as much as we can say this is happening when you get it on tape. » Yeah. » There’s no way from that. » You’ve done great reporting and you’ve added Benny, I saw your story and and it added a lot of additional context. These NOS’s, these homeless industrial complex gets hundreds of millions of dollars from the state. The the one that we saw was Weine Guard. That was on Skidro. Yes. » They $800 million. It’s it’s wild. And in the video, I’m pretending to be a homeless person. The guy comes out of Wine Guard wearing his little blue NGO vest and he’s like, “I’m with the LAPD. Get out of here.” He pretends to be the police to intimidate me. But, uh, that’s its own bit there. There’s the guy right there with the blue vest. That’s its own bit of surrealness. But to your point, Benny, you know, and and this is something that the the state and the federal government is is asking me, it makes all the difference when you capture the crime on tape as it’s happening. And I encourage the journalists. Now, I’m doing something new here, Benny. I’ve never done this before. I I’m I’m we’re calling it the Justice League, like the journalism Justice League. They don’t work for me and I don’t work for them. I’m I’m uh uh we’re going to be launching a video each day, every day, showing this exact same thing until somebody is arrested. That’s today, tomorrow, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. I’m going to release one video a day showing an illegal federal and state crime until somebody gets arrested. And I’m con because I know what your audience I I can’t see the comments right now, but I know what they’re all thinking. No one’s going to be held accountable. No, no, no, no. someone will be held accountable. And let me tell you something, if you keep, pardon me for being direct, bitching and whining that nobody’s held accountable, then nobody will be held accountable. But if you make it happen, if you go out in the field like Benny did and Anthony Rubin did and Cam Higgby did and James O’Keeffe did, and you go to Skid, you can go to Skidro, you know how to use your phone, they’re doing it in broad daylight, Benny, they’re not even hiding this. Do you know that? Go out there and capture it on video. We’re calling it the Justice League. I think the future is not in organizations and institutions. I think it’s in individual citizen journalists like Nick um like like Cam Higgby out there on their own. That’s the future of journalism, not in organizational newsrooms because they’ll they just won’t do the work. So, at one o’clock, Anthony Rubin is going to release another videotape and um I am confident that people are going to get prosecuted. I’m confident. » How widespread do you think this is in California? The the the tell here for me, James, is the governor freaking out? » Yes. » Like why why wouldn’t he just like make a meme of you and say, “Oh, it’s stupid James O’Keeffe, right? Like why isn’t he in a pimp costume?” Right? Like that that’s what I was expecting. The re reaction here. The tell is they’re freaking out. They’re freaking out because again it’s the the cash the cash exchange the the proverbial briefcase full of money being handed to the to the homeless person by the petitioner by by these NGO affiliates is on camera. It makes all the difference in the world that it’s not circumstantial evidence. We’ve been hearing for five years election fraud, voter fraud. There’s so much fraud, but you never actually see it happen. You hear about it. » There’s sort of statistical confidence intervals and and and probability things. No, no, no. This is different. And and the other thing is what we have coming out is much worse. For example, uh there was a citizen in San Francisco that you they actually gave the names of voters for them to vote in their names. Well, that’s what’s coming next. So, I think New Nome’s statement, he says they should be prosecuted the fullest extent of the law. I think Governor Nuomoe on this one might might actually he might actually have to do the right thing because he wants to run for president, right? He wants to be shown that you this is this is just too much. » And and this is a very serious thing. If they start if they’re giving voters names to vote in their names and they’re pulling that from a from a DMV website, hint hint, that’s what’s coming next. then it’s all it’s it’s too far gone. So, we’re very excited to to work alongside Governor Nome and the Los Angeles District Attorney. By the way, the LA reached out to me. The Los Angeles District Attorney has reached out to us and is coordinating with us » to to prosecute these people. You can’t make this stuff up. I saw the attack against Nick Shirley. I don’t know why they did that with him, but but we’re working with him now. Well, I mean, it’s, you know, because it’s circumstantial. The crimes that Nick Shirley captures is like, look at this rundown dump. They’re wasting taxpayer dollars. Uh, what you’re And then when I, you know, here’s the here’s the toilet. You know, I I’m like, look at this toilet. It has 30 people registered at it. Here’s the paperwork. Look at all these people registered to this portagon. But they they fact check me. You know, they come out attack me because they’re like, “Nope, it’s legal.” actually to register people to a portagon or to a street sign or to a Burger King parking lot. They straight up said it. But what you’re talking about is federal law and there’s no way they’re going to get around that. » Just as I’m sitting here, the California Secretary of State just emailed us. They want to speak to my reporters and my attorney. Now, I I get in the past, I’ve been doing this for 20 years. They’ll they’ll try to prosecute me, right? That’s what your audience is thinking. I actually don’t I actually I actually don’t believe that here. I I I mean I I just I just think it will will create a constitutional crisis if they if they first of all I’m I’m willing to be arrested. Martyr me, please. That that’s only going to help the story. Uh maybe we’re already in a constitutional crisis. I think most of you would agree with that. But I think you’re right, Benny. I think I would encourage citizen journalists who are watching and everyone’s a citizen journalist these days. What would happen if we all desented upon Skidro? I’m going there, you know, tomorrow, by the way. » Wow. » Um, and we all just put our iPhones out and captured the the the evidence. It makes all the difference in the world when you when you capture that that cash exchange on tape. So, the Secretary of State is emailing me right now. They want to talk to my attorney, want to talk to us and um uh about this latest developing news here out of California that people are being given cash money uh to register to vote, which is a federal crime and a state crime. Uh and how how how widespread is it, Benny? Uh it appears to be happening tens if not hundreds of thousands of times in broad daylight. I don’t want to get ahead of your reporting, but since you did a teaser, perhaps you could tell our audience uh a little bit more about what comes next. I’m Am I Did I get this right? In San Francisco, not only are they telling people not only they’re paying people to register and getting people to register in a in an illegal federal breaking federal law, but then then they’re telling them how to vote. Did I get that right, James? » That’s correct. Well, in in San Francisco, JJ was the was the person’s name. It’s never the news networks that capture this. It’s always rand randos. Randos with their phones in broad daylight. JJ got a got them giving the they were g the petitioners were giving the homeless names to vote in the name of, which is many, many crimes, multiple federal crimes, multiple state crimes. They were giving them they were pulling registered voters and saying please please vote for the petition in the name of this registered voter because it’s easier for them to do that than to get them to register to vote because many of these homeless don’t have addresses and it’s hard to ascertain. So that that is what what is coming coming next and it’s and it’s so shocking. I I’m I’m you know I keep saying this is the biggest story I ever did but that’s because we keep outdoing our our previous reporting that you know if if I got to go stand you know if I got to go stand in the parking lot where these law enforcement people live and work I will do that I I will investigate the prosecutors and I think that’s why Newsome is is um is putting out the statement he’s putting out I think because he knows he’s going to have to do something on this. So, so stay tuned for that. And and uh yes, they are giving people they are giving homeless people the names of voters that they should vote in the name of as well as paying them cash to register to vote.