The Justice Department told a federal court it won't use voter data to remove people from rolls, but its actual agreements with states require them to act on DOJ-identified issues and remove voters — creating a direct contradiction challenged by the judge in a New Mexico hearing. This matters because it suggests the Trump DOJ is positioning itself to influence voter roll maintenance despite denying it, which voting rights groups argue could disenfranchise eligible voters and amounts to federal takeover of election administration. The judge explicitly questioned whether DOJ had legal grounds for the request; CNN obtained internal DOJ documents showing the administration has been planning this voter data campaign for nearly a year while concealing details from courts and Democratic election officials.