LAST CALL FOR BARR
Biden says ‘the will of the people prevailed’
Attorney General William Barr is out, President Trump announced on Twitter Monday night.
The rift between the AG and president came to an abrupt end as electors across the country pushed Joe Biden past the 270 Electoral College votes needed to secure the presidency.
It also comes after Barr said Dec. 1 that the Justice Department hadn’t seen “fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election.” More recently, it was revealed that his agency was investigating the finances of Biden’s son, Hunter, including scrutinizing Chinese business dealings.
That revelation — coupled with Friday’s emergency use authorization of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine — came too late after the election to benefit Trump, who defied the polls and finished with more than 74 million votes. Biden finished with more than 81 million votes.
Trump said his relationship with Barr “has been a very good one, he has done an outstanding job!” He added Barr will be leaving the office just before Christmas “to spend the holidays with his family.”
Biden took to the airwaves Monday night to say “the will of the people prevailed” and his 306 Electoral College votes had been certified.
“This election was honest, free and fair,” Biden said in Wilmington, Del. “I’m convinced we can work together for the good of America … now is the time to turn the page.”
But Trump has not conceded.
Senior White House adviser Stephen Miller said on “Fox & Friends” Monday “an alternate slate of electors in the contested states is going to vote and we’re going to send those results up to Congress. This will ensure that all of our legal remedies remain open. That means that if we win these cases in the courts, we can direct that the alternate state of electors be certified.”
Miller said Trump supporters will be acting as “alternates” in the contested states of Michigan, Georgia, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and submit their own unofficial results.
Congress is set to convene Jan. 6 to tally the Electoral College votes and declare a winner. Inauguration day is set for Jan. 20.
The Jan. 6 date is also a day after Georgia holds a run-off election to decide two contested U.S. Senate seats — with the Republican majority in the Senate at risk.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont tweeted Monday night: “Georgia, YOU can remove Mitch McConnell as Majority Leader. Early voting started today, and Election Day is January 5th.”
Vice President Mike Pence tweeted: “While we have a ways to go, and all of us have a role to play, every American should take pride in Operation Warp Speed … a Historic Medical Achievement. ONLY IN AMERICA!”
As for Justice, Trump said Barr’s deputy Jeff Rosen will be the interim attorney general. Richard Donoghue will step in as deputy AG, the president added.