Barr: no evidence
Undercutting Trump’s claims, attorney general says he has not seen fraud “that could have effected a different outcome in the election.”
Attorney General William Barr said Tuesday that he has “not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election,” undercutting claims that President Donald Trump and his allies have made — without evidence — of widespread and significant voting irregularities.
His comments to the Associated Press, while caveated, make Barr the highest-ranking Trump administration official to break with the president on his allegation that the election was stolen, and they might offer political cover to other Republicans to stake out similar positions.
Trump himself, though, has shown no sign of backing down, and some of his Capitol Hill allies were critical of Barr’s assertions. Trump’s relationship with his attorney general was already deteriorating, with the president frustrated that Barr was unwilling to launch aggressive measures to support his fraud claims or take other steps that might benefit his re-election campaign.
At the same time Barr’s comments became public
Tuesday, the Justice Department revealed that the attorney general had, in October, secretly appointed U.S. Attorney John Durham of Connecticut as special counsel examining how the FBI investigated the Trump campaign in 2016 and beyond — a move that might hearten Trump and his allies.
Barr assigned Durham to run the investigation last year, but the order to install him as special counsel is likely to ensure that his work is not shut down by the incoming administration of Joe Biden, a concern voiced by people close to Barr.
Barr has been accused of using his position as the country’s top law enforcement official to help Trump win re-election and amplify his unfounded claims of electoral malfeasance.
Before the election, he warned repeatedly and forcefully about fraud that might come with mass mail-in voting, echoing the president’s attacks on the practice. Afterward, he reversed long-standing Justice Department policy and authorized prosecutors to take overt steps to pursue allegations of “vote tabulation irregularities” in certain cases before results were certified. To date, none have done so.