March 31 (UPI) -- Riverside County, Calif., Sheriff Chad Bianco said Sunday that his election fraud investigation is paused because of legal challenges by the state's attorney general.
Bianco recently seized more than 650,000 ballots from a state special election from last year that allowed the state to redistrict to gain five congressional seats. He said he was investigating allegations by an activist group that alleged the reported tallies don't match the ballots.
Since Bianco's investigation began, California Attorney General Rob Bonta has worked to stop him and said Bianco was acting illegally in taking the ballots from the county registrar.
"The facts have not changed. The Riverside County Sheriff continues to directly defy the Attorney General's instructions, in violation of the California Constitution and state law," Bonta's office said in a statement. "We are evaluating next steps to ensure a swift and appropriate resolution to this matter."
A California court denied Bonta's appeal to stop the investigation last week but Bonta clarified that the denial was based on court jurisdiction.
