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(WASHINGTON) — The FBI has invited elections officials around the country for a call later this month on the agency’s “preparations” for the high-stakes midterm elections, according to a letter sent to election officials and reviewed by ABC News.

The letter, which went out earlier this week, states that the FBI call will also include election officials from the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, United States Postal Inspection Service and Election Assistance Commission.

“To prepare for the 2026 US midterm elections, your election partners at the FBI, DOJ, DHS, USPIS, and the EAC would like to invite you to a call where we can discuss our preparations for the cycle, as well as updates and resources we can provide to you and your staff… We look forward to speaking with you in support of the 2026 midterm elections,” FBI staffer Kellie Hardiman, who signed the letter with the title “FBI Election Executive,” wrote.

The letter went to most election officials in the United States, according to a source familiar with the letter.

The offices of Arizona’s secretary of state and Utah’s lieutenant governor — the office that oversees elections in that state — confirmed to ABC News that they are among the offices that received the invite for the briefing, set to be held on Feb. 25.

The letter was first reported by Crooked Media.

Although it’s not unusual for government officials to have an election-security dialogue, the invite comes amid President Donald Trump’s ongoing false claims of voter fraud and the recent FBI raid of an elections office in Fulton County, Georgia.

The stakes are high for the upcoming midterm elections with the House majority on the line — as Republicans have a slim majority in the chamber.

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(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) — A grand jury has indicted actor Timothy Busfield on child sex abuse contact charges after his arrest last month, according to officials.

Busfield is facing multiple counts of criminal sexual contact of a child, according to Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman.

“District Attorney Sam Bregman emphasized that protecting children remains a top priority for his office. The Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office remains committed to doing everything possible to protect children and ensure justice for victims,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement Friday.

Busfield was arrested last month and ordered released by a judge.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(NEW YORK) — Luigi Mangione spoke out in court on Friday as Judge Gregory Carro tentatively scheduled his state murder case to begin on June 8.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett announced that Mangione’s federal trial will begin with jury selection on Sept. 8 and opening statements on Oct. 13. But Carro said Friday that he believes the state case should go to trial first.

“It appears that the federal government has reneged on their agreement to let the state, who did most of the work in this case, to go first,” he remarked at the beginning of the hearing. 

Carro ended the hearing with a stern directive to defense lawyers, who repeatedly pushed back on the June 8 trial date. 

“You have done a great job, so be ready on June 8,” Carro told the defense. “That’s it.”

Seconds later, Mangione himself protested the judge’s decision as he was escorted out of court.

Mangione, shackled and wearing tan jail attire, looked toward the gallery and loudly said, “One plus one is two. Double jeopardy, by any common-sense definition.”

Defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo repeatedly argued during the hearing that the June date would leave them unprepared and would be unfair to Mangione.  

“The defense will not be ready on June 8,” she said. “Mr. Mangione is being put in an untenable situation that is a tug of war between two different prosecution officers.”

Prosecutor Joel Seidemann responded by arguing that the defense is trying to
deprive [them] of a right to try the case” by creating a double jeopardy issue. 

“It is absolutely unfair that Mr. Seidemann wants two bites of the apple,” Friedman Agnifilo said. “New York state has a double jeopardy law for a reason.”

“Counsel is seeking to jeopardize us out of the federal case,” Seidemann responded. “We have every reason to be the prosecuting authority.”

Seidemann argued that state prosecutors and investigators have done the bulk of the investigation and should be able to try a murder that took place on the streets of Manhattan. He claimed that the family of the victim, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, requested that the state case go first. 

“That’s something certainly to be considered,” Seidemann said. 

While Carro suggested that defense lawyers could resolve the conflict by asking the federal judge to delay the federal case, Friedman Agnifilo said she would not do so. 

“It would be legal malpractice for us to do something that is not in our client’s best interest,” she said. “We have been working round the clock in both cases, fighting both cases.”

Carro said he could push the trial date to Sept. 8 if the Department of Justice decides to appeal a ruling in Mangione’s federal case. 

Mangione, who is accused of gunning down Thompson outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel in December 2024, has pleaded not guilty to the state and federal charges. The federal judge last week took the death penalty off the table in the federal case.

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