In a stunning interview with the Associated Press, Attorney General Bill Barr said no evidence has turned up yet to suggest that voter fraud tainted the results of the 2020 election.
“To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election,” Barr announced Tuesday, according to the AP.
The president’s legal team responded to Barr in a statement later that day.
“With all due respect to the Attorney General, there hasn’t been any semblance of a Department of Justice investigation,” the statement read, according to IJR. “We have gathered ample evidence of illegal voting in at least six states, which they have not examined.”
“Missing in action”
Barr’s comments followed a period of silence from the AG that prompted frustration and disappointment from President Donald Trump and many of his supporters, especially given the attorney general’s vocal support of Trump throughout the Russia collusion “hoax” and other controversies.
Before the election, Barr made pointed comments about a push by Democrats to massively increase the use of mail-in ballots, echoing Trump’s warnings at the time about fraud. In November, the AG issued a memo authorizing U.S. attorneys to investigate “substantial allegations” of fraud, according to CBS News.
But Trump complained in a Fox News interview Sunday that the Department of Justice (DOJ) remains “missing in action” as Trump’s legal team pursues claims of voter fraud in different states.
The president also questioned Sunday what he perceived as inaction in U.S. Attorney John Durham’s investigation of the origins of the Russia collusion probe that shadowed much of his presidency. “What happened to Durham? Where’s Durham?” he asked host Maria Bartiromo, according to Fox.
Barr revealed Tuesday that he had appointed Durham in October to serve as a special counsel, opening the door for his “investigation of the investigators” to continue under a Joe Biden presidency. Trump and his allies had been anxious for Durham to finish his investigation before the election, fearing it would be dismissed.
“Vigorously” pursuing justice
Later Tuesday, the DOJ issued a statement pushing back on media outlets for “incorrectly” reporting, based on Barr’s interview with the AP, that the DOJ was finished investigating election fraud.
“Some media outlets have incorrectly reported that the DOJ has concluded its investigation of election fraud and announced an affirmative finding of no fraud in the election. That is not what the Associated Press reported nor what the Attorney General stated,” a Justice Department spokesperson clarified, according to NBC News.
“The Department will continue to receive and vigorously pursue all specific and credible allegations of fraud as expeditiously as possible,” the DOJ added.
The post Barr says DOJ has seen no evidence of widespread voter fraud: Report first appeared on Conservative Institute.
No comments: