In the past, U.S. Attorney Robert Higdon Jr. has taken pains to prosecute a certain category of suspected voter fraud namely, individual cases that involve immigrants who mistakenly thought they were eligible to vote .

Now, it looks as though Higdon has jurisdiction over something more wide-ranging: an apparent election fraud conspiracy tied to North Carolina Republicans .

Higdon, a Trump appointee and the top federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of North Carolina, has jurisdiction over parts of North Carolinas 9th Congressional District where Republican Mark Harris appears to have defeated Democrat Dan McCready by fewer than 1,000 votes in last months midterm elections. Investigators are probing reports that a political operative working for Republicans ran an illegal ballot operation in the 9th District.

A spokesman for Higdons office said Monday they cannot confirm or deny any investigation into the alleged wrongdoings in the race between Harris and McCready.